- Woman fatally stabbed one, injured another in Times Square.
- Assailant, armed with knives, shot dead by NYPD officers.
- Incident occurred in busy tourist spot; mental health history noted.
New York: In a shocking incident in America’s busiest city, a woman randomly stabbed two people in New York City’s Times Square on Monday, killing one woman, and then was fatally shot by police, while onlookers watched the whole episode in shock.
According to the police official, the shooting happened just before 4:30 p.m. (local time) next to a New York Police Department substation, just outside One Times Square, the building that hosts the city’s annual New Year’s Eve ball drop celebration. It is one of the most heavily touristed and policed spots in all of New York.
WATCH: Stabbing suspect shot by police in Times Square, NYC, according to Citizen. pic.twitter.com/yqJfomjXRt
— Scope Report (@ScopeReport_) August 31, 2026
Man was waiting with his wife when he was stabbed
The 49-year-old woman from Queens pulled out two knives from a shopping bag and stabbed a 68-year-old man who had just come out of the subway station and was waiting to cross the street with his wife, striking him in the abdomen, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.
Recommended For You
Seconds later, the woman stabbed a 32-year-old woman also in the abdomen, Tisch said. Both victims were taken to the hospital. The woman died, and the man is in stable condition, according to police.
Police didn’t say if the victims were tourists visiting the city or residents.
Video of the confrontation goes viral on social media
Videos posted on social media show a group of at least 10 officers gathered around the woman, who was holding two large kitchen knives. Officers tried to convince the woman to drop the knives for several minutes before using a Taser, Tisch said. The woman told them: “I’m not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you,” according to Tisch.
The video shows the Taser not incapacitating her and the woman walking quickly toward the officers while waving the knives in front of her.
Two officers then shot the woman, according to police. In the video posted by bystanders, the woman fell to the ground, where an officer handcuffed her. Officers rolled her onto her back and rendered first aid.
“This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world,” Tisch said.
Woman has a mental history
The woman has a “documented mental health history with the NYPD,” which includes incidents in 2018 and 2019 but no arrest history with the department, Tisch said. She didn’t provide additional details.
Police are investigating. Tisch said there was no evidence suggesting it was a terrorist attack. The names of the victims have not been released until next of kin are notified, according to police.
“We know that those families’ lives have been shattered by what took place today, and we will continue to hold them close as the hours and days and weeks continue from this moment,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Both Mamdani and Tisch praised the officers, saying more people could have been hurt or killed if not for their actions.
(With inputs from AP via PTI)
You may also like to watch