Latest / Crime Alert Hourly Update / Terror in Times Square: Random Double Stabbing Ends in Police Shooting | Crime Alert 09.02.26

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Terror in Times Square: Random Double Stabbing Ends in Police Shooting | Crime Alert 09.02.26 · Crime Alert Hourly Update

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  Speaker 1: Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now. I'm Sydney Silvani.
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  Speaker 1: A nightmare played out in Times Square as a random
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  Speaker 1: stabbing spree ended in deadly police gunfire. Authorities say 49-year-old
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  Speaker 1: Pamela Cicernos of Queens embarked on a violent rampage using
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  Speaker 1: two knives pulled from a target bag. According to NYPD
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  Speaker 1: Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the horror began around 4.24 p.m. near
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  Speaker 1: West 41st Street and 7th Avenue. A 68-year-old man had
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  Speaker 1: just exited the subway and was waiting to cross the
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  Speaker 1: street with his wife when Cicernos approached without warning, stabbing
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  Speaker 1: him in the abdomen randomly. The victim was rushed to
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  Speaker 1: Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. Cicernos then headed north on
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  Speaker 1: 7th Avenue toward West 42nd Street and launched a second attack.
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  Speaker 1: Her knife struck 32-year-old Erin Piacenti in the abdomen. Piacenti,
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  Speaker 1: a corporate lawyer working one block away at Bank of
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  Speaker 1: America as a vice president in the business selection division,
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  Speaker 1: was rushed to Bellevue, where she died from her injuries.
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  Speaker 1: Tisch noted the two attacks unfolded within 20 seconds of
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  Speaker 1: each other. Piacenti had recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary
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  Speaker 1: with her husband Frank and bought their Chester, New Jersey
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  Speaker 1: home in September 2025. The second stabbing was captured on
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  Speaker 1: an NYPD Argus camera. Witnesses flagged down officers who confronted
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  Speaker 1: Cicernos between West 42nd and West 43rd Streets as she
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  Speaker 1: held both knives. During a four-minute standoff, officers repeatedly ordered
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  Speaker 1: her to drop the weapons. Cicernos refused, declaring, I'm not
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  Speaker 1: dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you. I
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  Speaker 1: will kill you. Police deployed tasers, but they failed to
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  Speaker 1: stop her as she advanced. Two officers opened fire, striking Cicernos,
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  Speaker 1: who was pronounced dead at Bellevue. Reflecting on the encounter,
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  Speaker 1: NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch emphasized the danger to bystanders during
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  Speaker 1: a news conference.
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  Speaker 2: This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart
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  Speaker 2: of Times Square, the crossroads of the world at any
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  Speaker 2: given moment. There are thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, tourists, families,
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  Speaker 2: workers moving through these streets. Our officers were confronted with
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  Speaker 2: a rapidly evolving threat with countless innocent people around them.
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  Speaker 2: In that moment, they did what we trained them to do.
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  Speaker 2: But tonight, our thoughts are, of course, with the victims
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  Speaker 2: of this horrific attack and their families. One life cut
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  Speaker 2: far too short by a senseless attack act of violence.
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Zoran Mamdani credited officers with preventing further bloodshed in
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  Speaker 1: the crowded district. The shooting is being investigated by the
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  Speaker 1: NYPD Force Investigation Division and camera footage will be released.
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  Speaker 1: While Cicernos had no arrest history, records document police interactions
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  Speaker 1: involving mental health in 2018 and 2019. Police confirmed there
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  Speaker 1: is no reason to believe the attack was terrorism. Tisch
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  Speaker 1: expressed deep sympathy, noting loved ones are confronting unimaginable loss.
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  Speaker 1: More crime and justice news after this. Justice has arrived
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  Speaker 1: nearly 30 years after one of hip-hop's most notorious cold cases.
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  Speaker 1: A Nevada jury found 63-year-old Dwayne Keefy D. Davis guilty
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  Speaker 1: of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the 1996
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  Speaker 1: drive-by shooting death of rap icon Tupac Shakur. According to
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  Speaker 1: the Associated Press, Davis faces life in prison after becoming
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  Speaker 1: the first person convicted in the case. Jurors deliberated for
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  Speaker 1: about three hours following nine days of testimony from 24
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  Speaker 1: prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses. Shakur's sister, Sequia Set Shakur,
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  Speaker 1: wept after the verdict while Davis' son covered his face.
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  Speaker 1: In closing arguments, Prosecutor Binu Palal stated Davis obtained a
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  Speaker 1: gun and went hunting for Shakur and Marion Shug Knight
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  Speaker 1: after they attacked Davis' nephew, placing Davis inside the Cadillac.
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  Speaker 1: Defense attorney Michael Samft argued no evidence placed Davis in
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  Speaker 1: Las Vegas. Knight recovered from minor injuries while Shakur died
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  Speaker 1: six days later at age 25. Davis remains held without
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  Speaker 1: bail pending sentencing on October 13th. In North Carolina, a
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  Speaker 1: 17-year-old girl is charged as an adult with murder by
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  Speaker 1: aiding and abetting in a deadly California mosque attack. Forsyth
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  Speaker 1: County District Attorney Jim O'Neill announced that Sarah Santiago was
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  Speaker 1: indicted on three murder counts and one conspiracy count. Authorities
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  Speaker 1: say 18-year-old Caleb Vasquez and 17-year-old Kane Clark stormed the
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  Speaker 1: Islamic Center of San Diego, armed and intending to commit
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  Speaker 1: mass murder. Three heroic men, Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad, and
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  Speaker 1: Mansour Kaziha, confronted the gunmen and helped prevent further bloodshed
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  Speaker 1: before being killed. The attackers died by suicide. The indictment
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  Speaker 1: alleges Santiago agreed beforehand to record and distribute the gunman's livestream,
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  Speaker 1: publish their manifesto, and purchase a white supremacist patch. District
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  Speaker 1: Attorney O'Neill detailed the decision to arrest Santiago locally.
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  Speaker 3: The individual here locally was the person who was recording
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  Speaker 3: the livestream. She disseminated that information. and she published their manifesto.
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  Speaker 3: The sheriff and the chief talked with the FBI. The
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  Speaker 3: decision was made to go and arrest her last week.
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  Speaker 1: O'Neill emphasized that Santiago falls under local jurisdiction despite her location.
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  Speaker 1: Investigators revealed the mosque was one target in a plan
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  Speaker 1: that included a local Jewish temple and a majority African-American
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  Speaker 1: high school. FBI Special Agent in Charge Reed Davis noted
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  Speaker 1: the probe included over 100 interviews, 30 search warrants, and
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  Speaker 1: 4 million messages. concluding Santiago failed to alert law enforcement
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  Speaker 1: despite multiple opportunities. For more crime and justice news, be
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  Speaker 1: sure to join us for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
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  Speaker 1: on Fox 1, YouTube, Sirius XM, and now streaming on Tubi.
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  Speaker 1: With this crime alert, I'm Sydney Silvani.