A fundraiser for the 5-month-old daughter of Erin Piacenti, the 32-year-old Bank of America vice president killed in a random Times Square stabbing, has passed $500,000 as thousands of people support her family following the August 31 attack.
More than 5,000 donations had been recorded by early Thursday. The campaign was established for Piacenti’s daughter, Madison, after her mother was killed on what her family said was her first day back at work following maternity leave.
Why was the Erin Piacenti fundraiser created?
The fundraiser was organized by Shray Gupta in consultation with Erin’s family. Its purpose is to help support Madison as she grows up following the sudden loss of her mother.
Erin and her husband, Frank, welcomed Madison five months before the attack. The couple had recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary and returned from a family road trip before Erin resumed work.
The timing became a major part of the family’s story because August 31 marked Erin’s first day back at work after maternity leave.
What happened in the Times Square stabbing?
The violence unfolded Monday afternoon near Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. Police identified the suspected attacker as Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens.
Authorities said Cisneros first stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen after he exited the subway. Roughly 20 seconds later, she approached Piacenti and stabbed her in another apparently random attack. A timeline of the Times Square stabbing details how the two attacks and subsequent police response unfolded.
Piacenti was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she died from her injuries. The other victim survived.
According to the Associated Press, officers later confronted Cisneros while she was armed with two large knives. Police said she refused repeated commands to drop them and advanced toward officers before being shot. Cisneros later died at Bellevue Hospital.
Who was Erin Piacenti?
Piacenti built a career spanning law and finance. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before earning her law degree from Fordham University School of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude.
She later worked at Davis Polk before joining Bank of America, where she became a vice president. Following her death, colleagues, relatives and friends remembered her not only for her professional achievements but for her devotion to her family and new role as a mother.
Fundraiser focuses on Madison’s future
The fundraising response developed rapidly in the days after Piacenti’s death, pushing the campaign beyond the $500,000 milestone.
The fund is intended specifically to help Madison rather than simply meet an immediate expense. It gives relatives, colleagues and others affected by Erin’s story a practical way to contribute to her daughter’s future.
Piacenti’s family has asked for privacy while thanking people for the support they have received. For Frank and Madison, the impact of August 31 will extend far beyond the investigation, while the fundraiser provides financial support during an extraordinarily difficult period.
Make Swikblog your go-to source on Google for reliable updates, smart insights, and daily trends.
