The mother of Pamela Cisneros, the woman who fatally stabbed a new mother and seriously injured an elderly man in Times Square, has questioned why police officers did not attempt to physically apprehend her daughter rather than fatally shooting her.
Cisneros, 49, attacked Erin Piacenti, 32, and Tak Kam, 68, on Monday afternoon. Cell phone video captured the moments after the assaults, showing Cisneros surrounded by police and wielding a knife in each hand, threatening officers. NYPD attempted to use Tasers, which were ineffective. Cisneros then advanced on the officers, prompting two of them to open fire, according to reports.
"There were so many police… why didn’t they grab her by the arm?" Cisneros' mother asked Fox 5 News.
Cisneros, a mother of three, was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. Her brother described her as having bipolar disorder but stated she had been receiving treatment and had not shown aggression, reporting she felt "fine" as recently as Saturday.
Cisneros had a documented history of mental health issues with the police, including a previous suicide attempt in March 2019, when she reportedly jumped in front of an E train in Queens. She had also been observed by police in December 2018 for being belligerent and intoxicated. Her divorce was finalized last year.
The unprovoked attacks occurred within approximately 20 minutes, beginning around 4:30 p.m. Monday. Kam, a 68-year-old father from Rhode Island, was stabbed in the abdomen as he exited the subway on West 41st Street. Cisneros then proceeded to 42nd Street, where she fatally stabbed Piacenti, a vice president at Bank of America who had recently returned from maternity leave. Piacenti, from Chester, New Jersey, had recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary and posted a photo with her infant child and husband just four days prior to the incident.
