Bank of America VP stabbed to death in Times Square

Bank of America vice president stabbed to death in Times Square

In Wall Street jargon, vice president sounds like the top. In reality, it's just one rung up: at a big bank there are enough of them to fill a bar. Yesterday, a 32-year-old Bank of America vice president was stabbed to death in the middle of Times Square, in an attack that also left a 49-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man injured.

What we know about the Times Square stabbing

According to reports circulating since yesterday, the incident points to a multiple attack in one of New York's busiest areas. The fatal victim, a 32-year-old woman, was a vice president at Bank of America. Alongside her, a 49-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man were also wounded. Police have not offered an official motive.

VP in banking: a confusing title

American nomenclature plays tricks. At any of the big investment banks there are hundreds of vice presidents: it's the mid-level step above analyst, typically reached around age 30 in a standard career. That the victim was a VP doesn't make her a top-tier executive, though the raw headline might suggest so. What doesn't change is the violence of the event.

Random attack or a message to banking?

The question running through the analysis is whether this was random violence or a deliberate target. There is no official confirmation of the motive. Some point out it would be the second attack on executives of major banks; at the other end, it's noted that isolated incidents in public spaces also happen with no connection to the victim. European precedents are not lacking: the RAF murdered the chairmen of Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank in Germany, and in France several ministers died in violent circumstances. None of that proves any connection to this case.

From Bank of Italy to Bank of America

A curiosity that adds layers to the case: Bank of America began as Bank of Italy, dedicated to lending to Italian immigrants whom other banks rejected more than a century ago. The victim carried an Italian surname, though, according to the information available, it was her husband's surname; her maiden name was Irish, having arrived in the United States possibly around 1880.

The investigation will determine whether this was simply a tragedy or the first sign of something bigger. Meanwhile, in the middle of Times Square, the question hangs in the air: who antiestéticars a bank vice president?