Pamela Cisneros’ Three Children Were Living Separate Lives Before the Times Square Attack — Her Parents Now Reveal the Sui@cide Attempt, Divorce and Mental Health Struggles That Haunted Their Daughter
The family history of Pamela Cisneros is coming under renewed scrutiny after the 49-year-old Queens woman was fatally shot by NYPD officers following a deadly stabbing attack in New York City’s Times Square.
Cisneros allegedly attacked two strangers on August 31, fatally stabbing 32-year-old Bank of America executive Erin Piacenti and seriously injuring 68-year-old Tak Kam. Police said Cisneros was carrying two knives when officers confronted her. After repeated commands to drop the weapons and unsuccessful attempts to subdue her with Tasers, she advanced toward officers and was shot.
In the days since the attack, attention has increasingly turned toward Cisneros’ personal life and the family members who say they saw few indications that she could become violent.
Cisneros was a mother of three daughters, according to her brother Patrick Peralta. The daughters were reportedly living separately: two were in Florida with their father, while another, who is autistic, was living in a Brooklyn care facility. Peralta said Cisneros had eventually returned to New York after her marriage broke down, while one of her daughters remained in specialized care.
Her marriage also deteriorated during a period when her mental-health difficulties were becoming increasingly serious. Court records show that her husband filed for divorce in Hillsborough County, Florida, in 2020, and the divorce was finalized in 2025.
Cisneros’ family has described years of psychiatric difficulties. Her brother said she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had struggled with what he believed was postpartum depression following the birth of one of her daughters. Her father, Mario Cisneros, similarly said her mental-health problems became apparent after she gave birth and recalled that she had been receiving monthly medication injections.
There had also been earlier encounters with police. Authorities said officers responded to an incident involving Cisneros in 2018. In 2019, she reportedly jumped onto subway tracks in what was treated as an apparent suicide attempt. Her family said she later appeared to stabilize with treatment and medication.
That apparent stability makes the events of August 31 particularly difficult for her relatives to understand.
Her father said he had seen Cisneros during the week before the attack and believed she appeared to be doing well. Her brother likewise said she had recently seemed stable and that he had never known her to be violent. The family has therefore been left trying to understand how someone they believed was improving could suddenly become involved in a random attack in one of New York’s busiest public spaces.
Meanwhile, Cisneros’ mother has publicly questioned whether police could have restrained her daughter rather than using lethal force. That criticism comes as authorities maintain that officers attempted to de-escalate the confrontation before Cisneros moved toward them with knives. The NYPD response remains part of the ongoing investigation.
The tragedy has left two families facing completely different forms of loss: Piacenti’s relatives are mourning a young mother killed while returning from her first day back at work after maternity leave, while Cisneros’ parents and siblings are struggling to reconcile the woman they knew with the violent act that ended her life.
The circumstances surrounding Cisneros’ final days—and what may have triggered the sudden escalation—remain unresolved. Authorities continue investigating the attack, while her family’s revelations provide a troubling picture of a woman whose personal and mental-health struggles had unfolded over many years.
