THE CHANGE HER FAMILY DIDN’T SEE COMING: PAMELA CISNEROS SEEMED TO BE “BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK” — THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED

For years, Pamela Cisneros’ family believed the worst was behind her.

She had endured years of personal and mental-health struggles, including postpartum depression after the birth of her second child. Her brother later said those difficulties were followed by a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and periods of treatment.

But eventually, something seemed to change.

According to her family, Pamela had appeared stable for several years while receiving treatment. Her brother said she was “fine” and had never shown aggression toward other people during that period. Her father also believed his daughter had finally found her way back to a more stable life.

Then came the warning signs.

THE ROUTINE THAT SUDDENLY STOPPED

Pamela normally maintained regular contact with her family.

She would often visit her mother for dinner.

But in the week before the Times Square attack, that routine reportedly changed.

She stopped showing up.

Her relatives noticed.

They called.

And while Pamela reportedly told family members she was fine, the change was enough to leave them concerned in hindsight.

Her brother later said the family wondered whether something had changed with her treatment, but that remains a family theory—not an established explanation for what happened.

THEN SHE CROSSED PATHS WITH ERIN PIACENTI

On August 31, 2026, Pamela encountered 32-year-old Erin Piacenti in Times Square.

Piacenti was a Bank of America vice president and a new mother who had just returned to work after five months of maternity leave.

It was her first day back.

She had recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary and was building a new life with her husband, Frank, and their five-month-old daughter, Madison.

That afternoon, police say Cisneros stabbed Piacenti in the abdomen.

Piacenti later died at Bellevue Hospital.

Another man, 68-year-old Tak Kam, was also stabbed but survived.

Police then confronted Cisneros. She refused repeated commands to drop the knives and advanced toward officers, who ultimately shot her.

THE QUESTIONS THAT CAME AFTER

For Pamela’s family, the most haunting part may be what happened before that afternoon.

They had seen a woman who appeared to be doing better.

They had watched her rebuild parts of her life.

They believed she was stable.

And then, shortly before the attack, something appeared to shift.

What exactly happened during those final days remains unclear.

There is no evidence that postpartum depression itself caused the violence, and investigators have not publicly established a definitive motive.

But one fact is impossible to escape:

The family believed Pamela was getting better — until the warning signs became impossible to ignore.

And by the time the world saw what happened in Times Square, it was already too late for Erin Piacenti.