NEW YORK CITY — The family of Erin Piacenti, the 32-year-old Bank of America vice president who was fatally stabbed in Times Square, has released an emotional tribute describing the young mother as a woman whose life was centered on family, friendship and the future she was building with her husband and baby daughter.

Piacenti was attacked in Manhattan on August 31, 2026, during her first day back at work after five months of maternity leave.

She never made it home.

Now, as her loved ones grieve, a fundraising campaign created in her memory is drawing an extraordinary response from thousands of people who never knew her personally.

💔 “ERIN WAS DEEPLY DEVOTED TO HER FAMILY”
In a statement shared through a GoFundMe campaign supporting Piacenti’s five-month-old daughter, Madison, her family said they were devastated by the loss.

They described Erin as exceptionally bright, accomplished, warm and deeply devoted to the people around her.

Most importantly, they said becoming a mother had been one of the great ambitions of her life.

The family wrote that Madison brought Erin enormous joy, and that Erin was in the process of building a future with her husband, Frank, when that future was suddenly taken away.

They also asked for privacy as the family deals with the loss.

👶 HER BABY WAS JUST FIVE MONTHS OLD
The circumstances of Piacenti’s death are particularly heartbreaking because of how new her family life was.

She and Frank Piacenti had recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary.

The couple had also recently returned from a family road trip, and had been raising Madison together in Chester, New Jersey.

According to the family tribute, Erin’s career achievements were only one part of her identity. Her loved ones emphasized that she was also a daughter, sister, friend, wife and, most recently, an “incredibly loving mother.”

🚨 SHE WAS HEADING HOME AFTER HER FIRST DAY BACK
The attack happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. on August 31 near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, in one of the busiest areas of Midtown Manhattan.

Police said 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros was carrying two large knives and attacked two people in what investigators described as a random and unprovoked assault.

The first victim, 68-year-old Tak Kam, was stabbed in the abdomen and survived.

Piacenti was then attacked and suffered a fatal stab wound.

Cisneros was confronted by NYPD officers moments later. Police said she refused orders to drop the knives and moved toward officers, who opened fire. Cisneros later died.

Authorities have not identified any personal connection between Piacenti and the attacker.

🏦 A PROMISING CAREER CUT SHORT
Piacenti was a vice president at Bank of America’s Business Selection and Conflicts group, where she had been working for about 18 months.

Before joining the bank, she worked as an attorney at Davis Polk.

She was also a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Fordham Law School.

Bank of America released a statement expressing shock and sadness over her death, calling her a valued teammate who would be deeply missed.

Her professional life, however, appears to have been only one part of the legacy colleagues and loved ones are now remembering.

❤️ A FUNDRAISER FOR MADISON SURGES
In the days following the attack, a GoFundMe campaign was established to help secure the future of Piacenti’s daughter.

The campaign originally set a target of $750,000.

By September 3, it had already raised more than $500,000, fueled by thousands of individual donations. A newer update showed the campaign moving closer to its full target, with more than 6,700 donors contributing.

The fundraiser explains that the money is intended to honor Erin by helping care for the daughter she loved so deeply.

The response has become one of the most visible signs of public sympathy following the attack.

🕯️ HER FAMILY DOESN’T WANT THE ATTACK TO DEFINE HER
Perhaps the most powerful part of the family’s message is that they are trying to make sure Piacenti is remembered for much more than the horrific circumstances of her death.

She had just entered a new chapter of her life.

She had a husband she loved, a five-month-old daughter and a career that was still developing.

Her family’s statement focuses on those parts of her life rather than the violence that ended it.

That message has resonated with people who have contributed to the fundraiser, many of whom never met Piacenti but were moved by the fact that she was killed while simply making her way home from work.

🔎 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ATTACK REMAIN
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is continuing to investigate the incident, including the circumstances surrounding the officers’ use of deadly force against Cisneros.

The broader circumstances of Cisneros’ behavior have also come under scrutiny.

Her brother has described a long history of mental-health struggles and suggested that her condition may have deteriorated before the attack. However, those accounts do not establish a definitive medical explanation for what happened that afternoon.

Police have described the attack as random and unprovoked and have not indicated that Piacenti was specifically targeted.

🚨 A LIFE INTERRUPTED IN A MATTER OF MINUTES
The tragedy has left a young family facing a future they never expected.

Erin Piacenti went back to work on August 31 after spending months at home with her newborn daughter.

By the end of that same day, her husband had lost his wife and Madison had lost her mother.

Her career, marriage and motherhood were all still unfolding.

Instead of another ordinary evening at home, her family was left with an unimaginable loss.

And now, thousands of strangers are trying to offer something tangible to the little girl Erin left behind.

The fundraising campaign continues to grow, but the family’s statement makes clear that the money is not meant to replace what was lost.

It is an attempt to protect the future Erin was working so hard to build for her daughter.

She was 32. She had been a mother for five months. It was her first day back at work. And she was simply on her way home.

Now, the people who loved Erin most are asking that her life — not the violence that ended it — be what the world remembers.

Sources:

New York Post — ‘Devastated’ family of BofA exec randomly slain in Times Square releases heartbreaking statement on young wife, new mom