“WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST GRAB HER?” — PAMELA CISNEROS’ MOTHER DEMANDS ANSWERS AFTER DEADLY TIMES SQUARE CONFRONTATION

NEW YORK — The final moments of the deadly Times Square confrontation are now raising difficult questions from both sides of the tragedy.

Pamela Cisneros’ mother wants to know why police officers surrounding her daughter could not physically restrain her before opening fire.

“There were so many police… why didn’t they grab her by the arm?” her mother asked in an emotional interview with FOX 5 NY.

Cisneros, 49, was fatally shot by NYPD officers on August 31 after police said she attacked two people with two large knives in the heart of Times Square. One of the victims, 32-year-old Erin Piacenti, died. A 68-year-old man survived the attack.

Now investigators are examining what happened during the confrontation — including the actions of the officers who ultimately fired their weapons.

A terrifying attack in the middle of Times Square

The incident unfolded shortly before 4:30 p.m. near One Times Square, one of the busiest and most heavily policed areas in New York City.

According to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Cisneros pulled two large knives from a shopping bag.

She first attacked a 68-year-old man who had just emerged from the subway and was waiting to cross the street with his wife.

Seconds later, police said, she attacked Piacenti, striking her in the abdomen.

Both victims were taken to hospitals.

Piacenti, a Bank of America employee and law-school graduate, later died from her injuries.

The other victim survived.

Then officers confronted Cisneros.

“Why didn’t they grab her?”

Cellphone video showed numerous officers surrounding Cisneros as she stood holding the knives.

According to police, officers spent several minutes attempting to convince her to put the weapons down.

The situation did not end peacefully.

Police said Cisneros refused to surrender and made threatening statements toward the officers.

Officers then deployed a Taser.

But according to authorities and video reviewed by investigators, the Taser did not incapacitate her.

Cisneros continued moving toward the officers while holding the knives.

Two officers then opened fire.

Cisneros was struck and later pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.

For her mother, however, one question remains impossible to ignore:

If several officers were already around her, why couldn’t someone simply grab her?

That is now one of the central questions her family wants answered.

What happened in those final seconds?

The question is emotionally powerful — but the circumstances officers faced are also part of the investigation.

Police have said Cisneros was armed with two knives and continued advancing toward officers after repeated commands to drop them.

Authorities described the situation as extraordinarily dangerous, particularly because it was unfolding in the middle of Times Square with large numbers of civilians nearby.

The available video captures only part of the encounter. Investigators will have to examine the complete sequence, including officer positioning, distances, commands, the failed Taser deployment and the exact moment Cisneros moved toward police.

Those details could determine whether officers had another realistic option or whether they believed they faced an immediate threat.

A family says Pamela was never violent

Cisneros’ family is also struggling to reconcile what happened in Times Square with the woman they knew.

Her brother, Patrick Peralta, told reporters that Pamela had never been violent.

Family members said she had experienced mental-health difficulties for years and had been receiving treatment. Peralta said she had appeared to be doing better in recent years and was taking medication.

Police Commissioner Tisch confirmed that Cisneros had a documented history of mental-health-related encounters with the NYPD in 2018 and 2019, although she had no arrest history with the department.

Her family had believed she was doing better.

Then came the shocking events in Times Square.

Two families left searching for answers

While Cisneros’ mother is questioning the police response, another family is mourning the loss of Erin Piacenti.

Piacenti, 32, was a Bank of America employee who had graduated from Fordham Law School in 2021. Her death transformed a random afternoon in Times Square into a tragedy for her family, friends and colleagues.

The 68-year-old man who was also attacked survived.

And Cisneros herself never left Times Square alive.

Now, investigators must reconstruct the seconds that separated the confrontation from the gunfire.

Could Cisneros have been physically restrained?

Did officers have enough time and distance to attempt another tactic?

Or had the situation become too dangerous for anyone to safely move toward her?

Those questions cannot be answered simply by watching a short cellphone video.

The investigation will have to determine exactly what the officers knew, what they saw and what options were realistically available in those final moments.

For Pamela Cisneros’ mother, however, the question remains painfully simple:

“Why didn’t they just grab her?”

And as investigators piece together what happened in those few seconds, the answer could become one of the most closely examined parts of the Times Square tragedy.