A 49-year-old woman with a mental illness stabbed two people—apparently at random—yesterday, Monday, shortly after noon (local time) in Times Square, killing a young woman before she, too, was shot and killed by police.

Authorities identified the victim as Pamela Cisneros, a resident of Queens. She pulled two knives from a bag from a well-known supermarket chain and began threatening passersby, according to Jessica Tis, commissioner (chief) of the New York Police Department.

He then stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen and, twenty seconds later, a 32-year-old woman, also in the abdomen.

The woman died at the hospital, while the man remains hospitalized in stable condition. The victims’ identities have not been disclosed and will not be released until their families have been notified.

BREAKING: Moment a knife-wielding woman was shot by NYPD officers in Times Square, Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/AjlGA6boht

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 31, 2026

Police officers who rushed to the scene tried to persuade her to surrender her weapons.

In a video filmed by passersby and shared on social media, a woman wearing a pink short-sleeved T-shirt can be seen threatening police officers, with two knives in her hands.

“The officers tried to reason with this woman for four minutes and repeatedly ordered her to put down the knives, which she refused to do,” according to the police chief.

“Terrifying attack”

While the officers were trying to convince her to put down the knives and surrender, she reportedly told them: “I’m not putting anything down. I’d rather kill you,” the NYPD commissioner added.

An eyewitness told PIX11 News that the woman “ran past me at the corner” of the streets “holding two knives in her hands.”

He also recounted that police officers used a Taser, a type of non-lethal restraint device that delivers an electric shock, to stop her, but she moved toward them and they shot her “twice.”

The police confirmed that an officer used a Taser, to no avail, before firearms were used.

An Agence France-Presse reporter who arrived at the scene after the incident unfolded noted a heavy police and emergency services presence and saw a pool of blood on theground.

Today in Times Square when tasers don’t work pic.twitter.com/aALVDZgYD0

— The E Man Street PHD (@DETECTIVE4LIFE) August 31, 2026

According to media reports, the 49-year-old woman had been known to the police since 2018 and suffered from mental health issues.

“We have no reason to believe this was a terrorist act,” according to the New York City Police Commissioner.

The situation, however, was “extremely dangerous” since the attack took place “in the heart of Times Square,” where “at any given moment there are thousands of New Yorkers—people on their way to work, tourists, and families walking these streets,” she noted.

Standing beside her during the press conference, the mayor of the American metropolis, Zoran Mamdani, thanked the police officers who intervened and prevented “this terrifying attack from taking an even more tragic turn.”

Source: KYPE