A frightening scene erupted in bustling Times Square in New York City on Monday, August 31. A woman named Pamela Cisneros was armed with knives and was allegedly stabbing people. In fact, Cisneros was reportedly shot dead by police. The scary incident left one victim deceased and another injured. They were reportedly a man, age 68, and a woman, age 32. The assailant's motive for the violent attack is still unclear at this time.
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Per the New York Post, she was "wildly waving two knives" and making threats.
Cisneros Allegedly Would Not Comply With Officers' Orders
According to the outlet, Pamela Cisneros "randomly knifed a man and a woman in a 20-second span near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue just before 4:30 p.m." Police located her nearby. When they did so, she was allegedly waving a pair of knives in their direction. Per the Post, the officers told her multiple times to put down the knives.
Pamela Cisneros allegedly refused to obey their orders, said New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Tisch also said that the woman declared, "I'm not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you. I will kill you."
Tasers were used on Cisneros. Nevertheless, they evidently did not subdue her. She reportedly continued to approach officer while still holding the knives, per the outlet. Two officers fired at Cisneros at that point. "She was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital." Pamela Cisneros allegedly was known to police and had a history of mental illness.
Chaos Reportedly Broke Out at the Scene
According to the Post, scared passersby raced to quickly get away from the site of the incident. In fact, one alleged eyewitness said, "It was a man ... he was lying on the floor and there was blood on him. The police were tending to him. I asked tourist what happened and she said there was a Mexican lady and she stabbed two people. It's crazy. Why was she having two knives- those were kitchen knives. That's crazy."
Commissioner Tisch said, "Our officers were confronted with a rapidly evolving threat with countless innocent people around them. In that moment they did what we trained them to do."
