A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident on Sunday as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being.” The attack occurred when the woman was on a stationary F train to Brooklyn and was approached by the suspect, who used a lighter to ignite her clothing.
Tragically, the victim died at the scene. Following a tip-off from a group of high school students, the suspect was apprehended later that day while riding the subway. The woman, whose identity has not yet been released, was attacked at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station around 7:30 a.m. local time.
According to police, there was no interaction between the woman and the man prior to the assault, and they do not believe the two knew each other. The suspect exited the train as police officers, who were patrolling the station, responded to the fire.
“Officers were on patrol on an upper level of that station, smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate,” Tisch explained. “What they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames.”
Investigators are still working to identify the victim and determine the motive behind the attack. After the initial incident, the suspect remained near the scene, seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car.
Responding officers obtained a good look at the man, and the NYPD circulated images to aid in his identification. Later, three high school students alerted 911 after recognizing the suspect on another train. Officers subsequently boarded that train and located him at Herald Square station, near the Empire State Building in Manhattan.
The police commissioner noted that the suspect had a lighter in his pocket when he was arrested. “I want to thank the young people who called 911 to help,” Tisch stated. “They saw something, they said something, and they did something.”
The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, emigrated from Guatemala to the U.S. in 2018. NYPD detective Joseph Gulotta mentioned that investigators are still determining whether the victim was asleep when she was set on fire. “She’s definitely there, she’s motionless,” he said, emphasizing that there was no interaction between the two before the attack.
Credit: BBC News
