Woman killed in Times Square worked for Bank of America

The woman killed in a random stabbing in New York City's Times Square worked for Bank of America.

Police identified her and the attacker, who was killed in a confrontation with officers shortly after the stabbing rampage on Monday.

The woman who died, Erin Piacenti, 32, was one of two people who were stabbed Monday afternoon in the tourist and theatre hub, a few blocks from Bank of America's office tower in New York.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague," the bank said in a statement.

Piacenti earned a law degree from Fordham Law School, graduating in 2021 alongside her husband, Frank Piacenti, according to the school. Fordham Law said in a statement it was heartbroken by her death.

The other victim was a 68-year-old man whose identity hasn't been released. He was hospitalised, and no update on his condition was immediately available Tuesday.

Police identified the attacker as Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens. Officers shot and killed her after the stabbing when a stun gun failed to subdue her..

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the woman had mental-health-related encounters with police in 2018 and 2019 but had no arrest record in New York City.

Cisneros' brother, Patrick Peralta, told the New York news outlet Gothamist that she had psychiatric problems for decades but wasn't aggressive.

The attack happened in one of the busiest and most heavily policed areas in New York - next to a police station and just outside the building that hosts the city's annual New Year's Eve ball drop celebration.

Cisneros pulled two knives from a shopping bag, stabbed the man, and then attacked Piacenti.

Officers tried to persuade Cisneros to drop the knives for several minutes before they used the stun gun. She told them she wouldn't drop anything and "would rather kill" the officers, according to police.