Police fatally shot a woman they described as emotionally disturbed after she allegedly stabbed two people, killing one, during a knife attack in Times Square on Monday.
The attack unfolded around 4:30 p.m. near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, where authorities say a woman they identified as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros stabbed a man and a woman before police confronted her nearby. Cisneros, from Queens, had previous outbursts related to her mental state, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The female victim later died at a hospital, while the male victim was hospitalized in critical condition, according to police sources. The identities of the victims have not been released.
Videos posted on social media appear to show the knife-wielding woman lunging toward several NYPD officers as they repeatedly order her to drop her weapons. Officers tased her as she continued to move toward them.
Both victims were transported to a hospital, where the woman was pronounced dead.
Sources told ABC News that Cisneros appeared to be emotionally disturbed and was armed with two kitchen knives. She refused repeated commands to drop the weapons when officers confronted her near an NYPD substation.
“During the encounter, she told the officers, ‘I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you.’ She repeated, ‘I will kill you,'” Tish said during a press briefing.
A photo captured by the New York Post near the scene showed an officer holding a kitchen knife recovered from the area. In videos posted to social media, the woman identified as Cisneros wore jeans, a pink shirt, and a brown bag over her shoulder, and appeared to be gripping a large knife in each hand.
Police have not provided any information about her motive, but they do not believe that it was an act of terrorism.
The incident comes just weeks after another stabbing near Times Square in which a man was stabbed in the head during an argument inside a subway station.
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