Newly released bodycam footage has shown the moment a woman was shot dead by officers in New York’s Times Square. Pamela Cisneros brandished two knives in the centre of Manhattan before she was confronted by police at 4.29pm on August 31.
The 49-year-old had walked down 7th Avenue holding kitchen knives in both hands before encountering officers Ryan Brito and Francis Gagliano who told her to drop her weapons. She refused and told them: ‘You’re going to have to kill me,’ urging officers to ‘come and get me’.
Standoff in the middle of Manhattan
The mother-of-three was shown wearing a pink top and a black handbag while engaging in the standoff with police. ‘We’re not doing this, ma’am,’ they can be heard telling her, to which she replies: ‘Yes we are’. The woman added she was ‘tired of this world already’ as officers attempted to placate her.
At one point an officer asked her if she believed in God, to which she said: ‘Not anymore.’ They then told her: ‘Just breathe, drop the knife and we can talk about this.’
Officers fire three shots
Two more officers approached the scene and attempted to deploy taser weapons as Cisneros began waving her arms, but these were ineffective at bringing her under control. Officers then fired three shots at Cisneros, who was then taken into custody and transferred to Bellevue Hospital, where she was confirmed dead.
Cisneros had earlier stabbed at least two people to death with the knives she had pulled from her bag. She first killed Tak Kam, 68, as he was leaving a subway station near West 41st Street. The mother then fatally stabbed Bank of America vice-president Erin Placenti, a 32-year-old mother who had just returned to work from maternity leave.
Mental health concerns
Cisneros was thought to have mental health issues and had uploaded videos warning about ‘end times’ months before her attack.
