Woman fatally stabs passerby in New York’s Times Square, police shoot her dead
In New York’s Times Square, a 49-year-old woman from Queens stabbed two passersby. One of the victims, a 32-year-old woman, died in hospital. According to police, two officers fatally shot the woman after she refused to drop the knives and moved toward them.
As Euronews reports, the incident occurred on August 31 shortly before 4:30 p.m. local time near a New York Police Department substation, next to the One Times Square building.
Two people injured
According to New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the woman took two knives from a shopping bag. She first stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen after he had just exited a subway station and was waiting to cross the street with his wife.
Seconds later, Tisch said, she also stabbed a 32-year-old woman in the abdomen. Both victims were taken to hospital. The man is in stable condition. Police did not specify whether they were New York residents or tourists.
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Officers’ actions
Videos shared on social media show at least ten officers near the woman, who was holding two large kitchen knives. According to Tisch, officers spent several minutes trying to persuade her to put down the knives before using a Taser.
The commissioner said the woman told officers that she was not going to drop anything and would rather kill both of them. The Taser did not stop her: according to police, she quickly moved toward the officers while brandishing the knives. Two police officers then opened fire. Eyewitness videos show that officers handcuffed the woman and provided first aid.
Tisch said the woman had a documented history of mental health issues in her contacts with the New York Police Department, including in 2018 and 2019, but had no history of arrests with the department. At the same time, the commissioner ruled out a terrorist motive. Police temporarily closed part of Seventh Avenue and urged people to avoid the area.
