A 32-year-old Bank of America vice president was fatally stabbed in Times Square on Aug. 31, just hours after completing her first day back at work following maternity leave, in what authorities described as a random and unprovoked attack.

Erin Piacenti, a New Jersey resident, was walking near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan when police say 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros attacked her with a knife.

Piacenti was stabbed in the abdomen and rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The killing was made particularly devastating by what Piacenti had been doing that day.

She had recently become a mother and Aug. 31 marked her first day back at Bank of America following maternity leave. She had also celebrated her wedding anniversary with her husband only days earlier.

Police Say Another Man Was Stabbed Seconds Earlier

Piacenti was not the first person attacked.

Approximately 20 seconds earlier, according to authorities, Cisneros stabbed a 68-year-old man nearby. He survived and was hospitalized in stable condition. Police said there was no indication Cisneros knew either victim.

Investigators said Cisneros had been carrying two large knives inside a shopping bag before the attacks.

The sequence unfolded in broad daylight in one of New York City's busiest tourist districts, sending pedestrians scrambling as police responded.

After the two stabbings, Cisneros headed toward an NYPD substation in Times Square while still carrying the knives, according to authorities.

Officers confronted her and repeatedly ordered her to drop the weapons.

Police said officers initially attempted to stop Cisneros with a Taser, but it did not incapacitate her. When she continued advancing while armed with the knives, officers opened fire. Cisneros was fatally shot.

Investigators have described the attacks as apparently random and unprovoked.

Piacenti Was a Bank of America Vice President

Piacenti had built a career spanning law and finance.

She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before attending Fordham University School of Law. She later joined Bank of America, where she worked as a vice president in the company's Business Selection and Conflicts division at One Bryant Park in Manhattan.

Bank of America issued a statement mourning Piacenti following her death, describing the company as devastated by the loss of its colleague.

Her death also left behind a husband and young child at a point when the family was beginning a new chapter.

She had only recently welcomed her baby, returned to work after maternity leave and celebrated another year of marriage.

Then, during her commute through Midtown Manhattan after that first day back, she encountered a woman police say she had never met.

Within seconds, an apparently random encounter in Times Square ended her life at 32 years old.