A lady randomly stabbed two individuals in New York Metropolis’s Occasions Sq. on Monday, killing one lady, after which was fatally shot by police, in line with officers.
The taking pictures occurred simply earlier than 4:30 p.m. subsequent to a New York Police Division substation, simply exterior One Occasions Sq., the constructing that hosts town’s annual New 12 months’s Eve ball drop celebration. It is among the most closely touristed and policed spots in all of New York.
The 49-year-old lady from Queens pulled out two knives from a purchasing bag and stabbed a 68-year-old man who had simply come out of the subway station and was ready to cross the road along with his spouse, hanging him within the stomach, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch mentioned at a information convention.
Seconds later, the lady stabbed a 32-year-old lady additionally within the stomach, Tisch mentioned. Each victims had been taken to the hospital. The lady died and the person is in steady situation, in line with police.
Police didn’t say if the victims had been vacationers visiting town or residents.
Movies posted on social media present a gaggle of at the least 10 officers gathered across the lady, who was holding two massive kitchen knives.
Officers tried to persuade the lady to drop the knives for a number of minutes earlier than utilizing a Taser, Tisch mentioned. The lady advised them: “I’m not dropping something, I might reasonably kill each of you,” in line with Tisch.
The video reveals the Taser not incapacitating her and the lady strolling rapidly towards the officers whereas waving the knives in entrance of her.
Two officers then shot the lady, in line with police. Within the video posted by bystanders, the lady fell to the bottom, the place an officer handcuffed her. Officers rolled her onto her again and rendered first assist.
“This was an awfully harmful state of affairs unfolding within the coronary heart of Occasions Sq., the crossroads of the world,” Tisch mentioned.
The lady has a “documented psychological well being historical past with the NYPD,” which embrace incidents in 2018 and 2019 however no arrest historical past with the division, Tisch mentioned. She didn’t present further particulars.
Police are investigating. Tisch mentioned there was no proof suggesting it was a terrorist assault.
The names of the victims haven’t been launched till subsequent of kin are notified, in line with police.
“We all know that these households’ lives have been shattered by what befell at present, and we are going to proceed to carry them shut because the hours and days and weeks proceed from this second,” mentioned Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Each Mamdani and Tisch praised the officers, saying extra individuals might have been harm or killed if not for his or her actions.
The NYPD quickly closed a part of seventh Avenue and warned the general public to keep away from the realm. Police tape cordoned off the realm as a big group of regulation enforcement officers labored close by.
Violent crime has fallen sharply in New York Metropolis up to now this yr, with homicides down 24 p.c and on tempo to probably hit their lowest degree in a long time. However that is the second killing this yr in Occasions Sq.. A person was fatally stabbed in the identical space in Could.
