A 49-year-old woman who attacked two people with kitchen knives in Times Square in New York City, US, was shot and killed by police. Erin Piacenti, 32, who worked as a vice president at Bank of America, was killed in the attack, while a 68-year-old man was injured.
Police opened fire on the woman, who did not drop the knives despite being hit with a stun gun. Authorities said there was no evidence linking the incident to terrorism and that the motive for the attack was under investigation.
Why it matters
The fact that the incident took place in a public location brings the safety of people in the area during the attack and the limits of the police response to the forefront of the same investigation. The targeting of two people and the death of one person require the inquiry to focus not only on the motive for the attack but also on how the incident unfolded. At this stage, the absence of evidence of a terrorism connection makes determining the motive the investigation’s central unanswered question. The failure of the stun gun during the police response also raises the question of the circumstances under which the use of deadly force took place. The condition of the injured person and what the investigation will reveal about the motive for the attack remain unclear.
Background
Times is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we published 2 reports mentioning the name in the last 90 days; the most recent was dated August 31, 2026.