A 49-year-old woman with two kitchen knives attacked two people, one fatally, before police shot and killed her in Times Square on Monday afternoon. Law enforcement experts deemed the shooting justified but criticized officers for standing in a semicircle around the suspect, Pamela Cisneros, without clearing the area. This positioning risked harming bystanders or fellow officers, as traffic and pedestrians continued passing seconds before the gunfire.

Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch defended the officers, stating they tried talking for four minutes before opening fire after the woman refused commands to drop the knives. Mayor Zohran Mamdani advocated for mental health workers at such incidents, arguing his Office of Community Safety would overhaul policing of mentally ill people, though he maintained the plan would not apply when there is an immediate threat of violence.

Retired NYPD Captain Stuart Schwartz suggested a supervisor could have closed off cross streets to make the scene safer. The incident reignites debate over police response to psychiatric crises and the role of mental health professionals in public safety situations.