Father stunned by daughter's role in deadly Times Square stabbing spree
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New information has emerged about the woman shot and killed by police in Times Square after a deadly stabbing spree. The suspect's father told Eyewitness News that he cannot understand what led to the violence.
Pamela Cisneros was shot and killed by police after authorities said she stabbed two strangers in a random attack and then refused orders to drop two knives.
Video from the scene shows a woman waving knives at officers before gunshots were fired.
"I knew my daughter very well but I didn't know what was going on with her. What I do know is she was getting injections," said Mario Cisneros, the suspect's father.
According to her father, Cisneros had been receiving monthly medication injections to treat some form of mental illness before Monday afternoon's attacks.
Mario Cisneros said he saw his daughter the week before the incident and that she appeared to be fine. He also said she was not a violent person.
"We don't understand because the situation reversed," Cisneros said.
Police said Cisneros fatally stabbed 32-year-old Erin Piacenti, a vice president for Bank of America, as she was heading home from work. Piacenti had recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary and was traveling home to Chester, New Jersey, when the attack occurred, according to police.
In a statement, Bank of America said: "We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague. She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed."
Police said a second victim, a 68-year-old Rhode Island man, survived a stab wound to the abdomen. He was visiting New York with his wife to see their son and was waiting to cross West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue when he was attacked, according to authorities. He has since been released from the hospital.
A neighbor of the male victim said the incident has shaken the community.
"To just find out that something that horrible could happen to somebody that close to you just makes the community feel vulnerable," the neighbor said.
Police said Cisneros had been hospitalized numerous times for mental health crises over the years.
Authorities said officers were called to incidents involving her in 2018, when she was acting belligerent at a Manhattan hotel, and in 2019, when she jumped onto subway tracks in an apparent suicide attempt.
Mario Cisneros said his daughter's mental health struggles became apparent after the birth of one of her children, leading him to believe she suffered from postpartum depression.
"No, this was a situation, how do you say, it's in the hands of God. What she did. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't click," Cisneros said.
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