A woman armed with two large kitchen knives was fatally shot by NYPD officers in Times Square on Monday afternoon after police say she stabbed two people, killing one and critically injuring another.
The incident unfolded shortly before 4:30 p.m. near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, one of the busiest areas of Midtown Manhattan and just steps from the NYPD substation at Times Square.
According to police, the 49-year-old woman from Queens stabbed a 32-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man in what authorities described as an apparently random attack.
The female victim later died from her injuries. The male victim remained in critical condition.
After the stabbing, officers confronted the woman near the Times Square police substation as she continued holding two knives.
Video recorded by a bystander captures the tense confrontation.
The footage shows the woman standing in the street holding a large knife in each hand as a group of NYPD officers surrounds her from a distance. Officers can be heard repeatedly ordering her to put the knives down.
At least one officer appears to deploy a Taser in an attempt to stop her, but it does not incapacitate her.
The video then shows the woman moving quickly toward the officers while still holding and waving the knives.
Several officers retreat as she advances. Moments later, multiple officers draw their firearms and gunshots can be heard.
The woman falls to the pavement.
The footage then shows officers approaching her, securing her hands and beginning to provide medical assistance.
She was transported to a hospital, where she later died.
The confrontation took place outside One Times Square, the building best known as the site of the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop. The area is normally crowded with tourists, pedestrians and a heavy police presence.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said investigators believe the stabbings were random and that there was no indication the incident was connected to terrorism.
Authorities also said the woman had a documented history involving mental health issues but had no previous arrests.
Police recovered the knives from the scene.
The NYPD closed sections of Seventh Avenue while officers investigated, causing traffic and transit disruptions in the Times Square area.
Videos of the confrontation began circulating widely on social media shortly after the shooting, giving the public an unusually clear view of the final moments of the encounter between the armed woman and police.
The NYPD investigation into both the stabbing and the police shooting remains ongoing.
Sources: Associated Press, ABC7 New York.
By NJ RADAR Team
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