A GoFundMe campaign created to support the infant daughter of a Bank of America employee killed in last week's fatal Times Square stabbing has raised more than $750,000.
Erin Piacenti, 32, was fatally stabbed on Aug. 31 after returning to work from maternity leave, according to New York City police. Piacenti, a vice president at Bank of America, had welcomed her first child, Madison, with her husband, Frank, five months earlier.
The fundraiser, created to support Madison's future, says it gives friends, coworkers and others touched by Piacenti's story "a way to honor Erin by helping care for the daughter she loved more than anything." As of Sept. 4, the campaign had raised over $775,000 through more than 800 donations.
"Funds raised will be dedicated
to supporting Madison as she grows up surrounded by the family, friends, stories, and memories that will allow her to know just how remarkable her mother was," Shray Gupta, the fundraiser's organizer who identified himself as Frank Piacenti's brother-in-law, wrote on the GoFundMe page.
GoFundMe created to support Madison's future
All funds raised will go directly to Frank Piacenti to support Madison, Gupta, who consulted with the family, said.
According to the campaign, becoming a mother had been Piacenti's lifelong dream and that Aug. 31 was her first day back at work after maternity leave. It also says Erin and Frank had recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary, returned from a family road trip and were preparing to build a life together with their daughter before the fatal stabbing.
Who was Erin Piacenti?
The fundraiser remembers Piacenti as a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend whose life was defined by her compassion for others.
Piacenti graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied political science and sang in an a cappella group, according to the GoFundMe page. She later earned her law degree magna cum laude from Fordham University School of Law, worked at Davis Polk and became a vice president at Bank of America.
"Erin's career accomplishments, however, speak to only a small portion of who she was," the GoFundMe page reads. "To the people who knew and loved her, Erin was a thoughtful daughter and sister, a loyal friend, a devoted partner ... and, most recently, an incredibly loving mother to Madison."
What happened in the Times Square stabbing?
Police said the attack unfolded shortly after 4:20 p.m. on Aug. 31 near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue in Times Square. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Pamela Cisneros, 49, first stabbed a 68-year-old man who had just exited a subway station before fatally stabbing Piacenti moments later. Investigators said the attacks, which occurred within about 20 seconds of one another, appeared random and unprovoked.
Officers spent several minutes ordering Cisneros to drop the knives, but after Tasers failed to stop her from advancing toward them, police opened fire, authorities said. Cisneros later died at an area hospital. Police said she had a documented mental health history, and that investigators found no evidence the attack was an act of terrorism.
"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague," Bank of America previously said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. "She was a valued teammate who will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to her family and all of her loved ones."
Contributing: USA TODAY reporters Natalie Neysa Alund & Thao Nguyen
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com or on X @athompsonUSAT
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Over $750K raised for baby of Bank of America VP killed in Times Square
