A horrifying burst of violence in the heart of Times Square has left two women dead, a third person seriously wounded and two families confronting a tragedy that unfolded within minutes.

Pamela Cisneros, 49, was fatally shot by police Monday after authorities said she attacked two strangers with large kitchen knives in one of New York City’s busiest tourist districts.

One of the victims, 32-year-old Erin Piacenti, later died at the hospital. The second victim, 68-year-old Tak Kam, survived but was rushed for emergency treatment after suffering stab wounds to his abdomen.

Now Cisneros’ grieving mother is questioning whether officers could have ended the confrontation without killing her daughter.

“There were so many police,” she said in Spanish during an interview with Fox 5 News. “Why didn’t they grab her by the arm?”

It is a haunting question emerging from a chaotic encounter that left officers facing an armed suspect in a crowded public space. The information provided does not establish whether safely restraining Cisneros without lethal force was a realistic option.

Knives allegedly pulled from a shopping bag

According to reports, Cisneros arrived in Times Square carrying a Target bag. She allegedly removed two large kitchen knives and attacked Piacenti and Kam, who authorities believe were selected at random.

The sudden violence erupted amid the crowds, lights and constant movement that define the internationally famous Manhattan destination.

Piacenti was taken to a hospital, but doctors were unable to save her. Her death transformed the attack into a homicide investigation and left her loved ones facing an unimaginable loss.

Kam was stabbed in the abdomen and also required hospital treatment. Details about his recovery were not included in the supplied report.

Police confronted Cisneros while she was still armed, according to authorities. Officers then opened fire, fatally wounding her.

Exactly how much time passed between the attack and the shooting—and what commands or other measures officers attempted—was not detailed in the available account.

A mother struggles to understand

In the aftermath, Cisneros’ mother asked that her name be withheld while speaking publicly about her daughter.

Her words did not erase the violence allegedly committed against two strangers. Instead, they reflected another dimension of the tragedy: a family attempting to understand how a woman they loved became involved in a deadly confrontation with police.

Cisneros’ relatives said she had experienced serious mental-health difficulties for years. Her brother reported that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had received treatment.

A diagnosis alone does not explain or predict violent behavior, and most people living with mental illness are not violent. In this case, however, the family’s account suggests Cisneros had previously endured periods of severe crisis.

Police reportedly encountered her in 2018 after she was found intoxicated and shouting on Lexington Avenue. Months later, she attempted to take her own life by jumping in front of an E train in Queens, according to the report.

Those incidents documented a person who had previously been in profound distress—but her relatives said they had not expected her to attack anyone.

She reportedly said she was “fine”

Perhaps the most unsettling detail for the family came from a conversation only days before the Times Square attack.

As recently as Saturday, Cisneros reportedly told relatives that she was feeling “fine.”

Nothing in that exchange apparently prepared them for what happened Monday.

That sharp contrast—the reassurance given to loved ones followed by an eruption of public violence—has left Cisneros’ family searching for answers that may not come easily.

Her mother’s question about the police response will likely remain central to those questions. But any assessment of the officers’ actions would require a complete review of available video, witness accounts, police commands and the immediate threat confronting officers and bystanders.

Two families are now mourning

The suffering caused by the incident extends in different directions.

Piacenti’s family lost a 32-year-old woman who had apparently done nothing more than cross paths with a stranger in Times Square. Kam survived but endured a violent attack and serious injuries.

Cisneros’ relatives, meanwhile, are mourning a woman whose reported mental-health history had already brought years of fear and instability. They must also live with the knowledge that she was accused of taking one life and nearly ending another before being killed herself.

The circumstances are different, but the grief is real on every side.

For New Yorkers and visitors, the attack also shattered the ordinary rhythm of a place usually associated with flashing billboards, Broadway theaters and enormous crowds. In moments, a public intersection became the scene of a fatal stabbing and police shooting.

Questions that remain unanswered

Investigators must now reconstruct the confrontation from beginning to end.

They will need to determine what led Cisneros to Times Square with the knives, whether anything preceded the alleged attack, how officers attempted to stop her and why lethal force became necessary.

For Piacenti’s family, no investigation can reverse what happened. For Kam, the physical and emotional consequences may continue long after his wounds begin to heal.

And for Cisneros’ mother, one question continues to echo after a tragedy that claimed her daughter’s life only moments after another woman had been fatally wounded:

With so many officers present, was there any other way it could have ended?