SHE SAID SHE WAS “FINE” JUST DAYS BEFORE THE TIMES SQUARE ATTACK — NOW HER BROTHER REVEALS THE MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLE BEHIND THE HORROR

Just days before Pamela Cisneros was identified as the woman at the center of a terrifying Times Square attack, her family reportedly heard something that seemed reassuring: She was fine.

There was no warning that her life was about to take a devastating turn.

No known history of violent behavior.

No obvious sign, according to her brother, that she was about to become involved in an incident that would leave a 32-year-old new mother, Erin Piacenti, without her life — and another stranger injured.

Instead, Cisneros’ family believed she had been doing better.

Her brother, Patrick Peralta, said she had struggled with serious mental health difficulties for decades, including what he described as postpartum depression and possible bipolar disorder. But after a 2019 suicide attempt, he said, treatment appeared to help stabilize her.

“She was doing well,” Peralta said, describing the previous four or five years. He said she had been receiving injections and had never previously shown the kind of aggression witnessed in Times Square.

Then came the final days.

“SHE SAID SHE WAS FINE”

Peralta said the family became concerned when Cisneros suddenly stopped making her usual visits.

She normally spent time with her mother and stepfather, often joining them for meals during the week and on weekends.

But the previous week, she did not show up.

Her relatives tried calling.

Eventually, her mother spoke with her on Saturday — only a few days before the Times Square incident.

According to Peralta, Cisneros told her mother she was fine.

There was apparently nothing in that conversation that suggested the horrifying events that would follow.

On Monday afternoon, however, police say Cisneros entered the crowded Times Square area carrying two large kitchen knives.

Within moments, two strangers had been targeted.

A RANDOM ATTACK ON TWO STRANGERS

Police said Cisneros first approached 68-year-old Tak Kam near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue.

He was injured in the abdomen.

Approximately 20 seconds later, investigators say, she attacked Erin Piacenti.

Piacenti, 32, was a Bank of America vice president and lawyer who had recently returned to work after maternity leave.

She was also the mother of a five-month-old daughter.

Piacenti was rushed to Bellevue Hospital but could not be saved. Kam survived and was hospitalized.

The two victims did not appear to have any connection to Cisneros.

That has left investigators and the public asking the same question:

Why them?

At this stage, authorities have not announced a clear motive.

HER BROTHER SAYS HE NEVER SAW THIS SIDE OF HER

For Peralta, perhaps the most difficult part is trying to reconcile the woman he knew with what happened in Times Square.

He said Cisneros had never been aggressive or violent toward the family.

She was a mother of three and had earned a master’s degree in psychology.

She had also experienced serious mental health struggles for years.

But her relatives believed those problems had become manageable.

Peralta said she had received regular treatment after her 2019 suicide attempt and appeared stable for years.

That apparent stability made Monday’s events even harder for the family to comprehend.

“It was like a switch,” Peralta said, according to Gothamist. “I don’t know what happened in her mind.”

AND THEN THERE IS THE QUESTION ABOUT HER TREATMENT

This may be one of the most important unanswered questions in the case.

Peralta said Cisneros had been receiving injections as part of her treatment.

Her father, Mario Cisneros, separately told The New York Times that he had accompanied his daughter to monthly hospital appointments, where she received injections that he believed helped keep her stable.

But in April, he said, she refused his offer to drive her to an appointment.

She reportedly told him she could go by herself.

Her father recalled her reassuring him: “Don’t worry.”

He believed she was doing better.

The family now does not know whether she continued receiving treatment consistently before the Times Square incident. The New York Times reported that her father did not know exactly what medication she had been receiving, and it remained unclear whether she had recently taken it or received further treatment.

That distinction is crucial.

There is no confirmed evidence that a change in medication caused the attack.

The possibility has been raised by family members, but authorities have not established that as a cause.

HER FAMILY IS LEFT WITH QUESTIONS

Cisneros’ relatives are now facing a reality they never expected.

The woman they remembered as a mother, sister and daughter had become the subject of a massive police investigation after an apparently random attack in one of the world’s busiest public places.

Her brother said his family could not explain what triggered the violence.

He also expressed sympathy for Piacenti’s family and for the man who survived the attack.

“Nothing that we can say is going to bring the person back,” he said, emphasizing that his family feels the victims’ pain as well.

POLICE CONFRONTED HER MINUTES LATER

After the two attacks, officers confronted Cisneros near an NYPD substation.

She was still carrying the two knives.

Police repeatedly ordered her to put them down.

According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Cisneros refused and threatened the officers.

Officers deployed Tasers, but they were ineffective.

Cisneros then advanced toward the officers while still holding the knives.

Two officers fired, striking her.

She later died.

The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is examining the police response, while investigators continue trying to understand what led to the initial attacks.

A FAMILY SAW “FINE.” THE CITY SAW SOMETHING ELSE

That contrast may become one of the defining questions of the case.

To her family, Pamela Cisneros had appeared stable for years.

She visited relatives.

She attended family gatherings.

She helped organize her stepfather’s birthday celebration.

She told her mother she was fine.

And then, within days, two strangers were attacked in Times Square.

One of them was Erin Piacenti — a 32-year-old wife and mother who had only recently returned from maternity leave.

Her five-month-old daughter is now growing up without her.

Meanwhile, Cisneros’ family is left wondering what happened during those final days — and whether anything could have warned them that something had changed.

For now, investigators have no publicly confirmed explanation.

And the most haunting detail may be the simplest one:

Just days before the tragedy, her family called to check on her.

She told them she was fine.