Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / 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 Stories with Nancy Grace

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