Erin Piacenti was only 32 years old.
A vice president at Bank of America and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Fordham Law School, she had just celebrated her second wedding anniversary on August 10. Three weeks later, she was calmly walking along 42nd Street at Seventh Avenue, in the heart of Times Square, when her life crossed paths with that of Pamela Cisneros, a 49-year-old woman carrying two kitchen knives.
Cisneros had just stabbed a 68-year-old tourist in the abdomen when, just seconds later, she attacked Erin as well. They did not know each other and, according to the case records, there had been no prior interaction between them.
Erin was rushed to a hospital, where doctors tried to save her, but the severity of her injuries ultimately claimed her life. Meanwhile, police found Cisneros still armed. When officers attempted to arrest her, the woman lunged at them with the knives and died after being shot.
The tragedy occurred just as Erin was going through a period filled with major changes. In addition to her career and marriage, she was the mother of a barely five-month-old baby and had recently returned to work after her maternity leave.
A walk through Times Square that probably seemed completely ordinary ended up changing her husband’s life forever and leaving a five-month-old baby without her mother. All because she crossed paths, in the wrong place and at the wrong time, with a woman Erin did not even know. 💔
Cisneros had already stabbed a 68-year-old tourist seconds earlier. Erin was next. Doctors fought to save her, but her injuries were too severe. Police found the attacker shortly afterward: instead of surrendering, she lunged at the officers, who responded by shooting her, killing her at the scene.
An ordinary afternoon in New York became the end of a story that had barely begun.