NYPD warns public to avoid Times Square amid reports of officer-involved shooting

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani detail a deadly, unprovoked double stabbing in Times Square that unfolded within approximately 20 seconds before officers confronted and fatally shot the knife-wielding suspect.

A woman armed with two knives went on a random stabbing spree through the heart of Times Square Monday before a tense confrontation with NYPD officers ended in deadly gunfire, authorities said.

The attack left a 32-year-old woman dead and a 68-year-old man wounded after the two strangers were stabbed within just 20 seconds of each other, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during an evening news conference.

Police identified the alleged attacker as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, who was also killed after officers opened fire.

The violence began around 4:24 p.m. near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, where a 68-year-old man had just exited the subway and was standing with his wife waiting to cross the street.

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Large police presence currently in Times Square. (Fox 5)

A witness told investigators Cisneros pulled two knives from a red Target bag, waved them and approached the man before stabbing him in the right side of his abdomen in what Tisch called a "random and unprovoked attack."

The man was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and remained in stable condition Monday evening.

Cisneros then headed north on Seventh Avenue toward West 42nd Street, where police said she approached a 32-year-old woman and stabbed her in the abdomen in another apparently random attack.

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The NYPD have confirmed that there was a police-involved shooting in Times Square. (Fox 5)

The woman was rushed to Bellevue, where she died from her injuries. Police had not released her identity pending notification of her family.

The two attacks unfolded within approximately 20 seconds of each other, Tisch said. The second stabbing was captured on an NYPD Argus camera.

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As Cisneros continued north, witnesses flagged down officers who confronted her between West 42nd and West 43rd streets. She was still holding both knives, police said.

What followed was a roughly four-minute standoff as officers repeatedly ordered Cisneros to drop the weapons and attempted to talk her into surrendering them.

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The two knives NYPD said were recovered after Pamela Cisneros allegedly stabbed two strangers in an unprovoked Times Square attack that left a 32-year-old woman dead and a 68-year-old man wounded. (X/@NYPDnews)

But she made clear she had no intention of surrendering the knives, Tisch said.

"I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you," Cisneros told the officers, according to Tisch.

Police said Cisneros then began waving the knives and advancing toward the officers. Multiple officers deployed Tasers, but they failed to stop her.

As Cisneros continued advancing with the knives, two officers opened fire, striking her. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The confrontation and police shooting were captured on officers’ body-worn cameras, Tisch said.

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NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks at a press conference alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and police officials following the deadly double stabbing and police-involved shooting in Times Square on Aug. 31, 2026. (X/@NYPDnews)

"This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world," Tisch said.

She noted that thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, tourists, families and workers can be moving through the area at any given moment.

"Our officers were confronted with a rapidly evolving threat, with countless innocent people around them," Tisch said. "In that moment, they did what we train them to do."

Mayor Zohran Mamdani also credited the responding officers with preventing further bloodshed.

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The NYPD have confirmed on X that there is currently an investigation near West 42nd Street and 7th Avenue. (Fox 5)

"I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse," Mamdani said. "This is what the men and women of this department do every single day to keep our city safe."

Mamdani said the standard internal investigation into the police shooting will take place and that body-worn camera footage will be released to the public.

Cisneros had no arrest history with the NYPD, but department records documented a mental health history involving police interactions in 2018 and 2019, Tisch said. Investigators were still working to determine what brought her to Times Square before the attack.

Police said there was no reason at this stage of the investigation to believe the stabbing was an act of terrorism.

Tisch called the killing a "senseless act of violence" as she reflected on the victim and the family now confronting her death.

"One life cut far too short by a senseless act of violence," Tisch said. "There are family members and loved ones who are now confronting the unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with them."