Woman Dies after Being Set on Fire on New York Subway
A man has been arrested in New York after a woman was fatally set on fire inside a stationary subway train in Brooklyn.
Describing the Sunday attack as “one of the most depraved crimes imaginable,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed chilling details of the incident. The victim, seated in an F train at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station around 7:30 a.m. local time, was approached by a man who used a lighter to ignite her clothing. Within seconds, flames engulfed her, and although officers quickly extinguished the fire, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities are investigating the motive and have yet to file charges. The woman, whose name remains undisclosed, appeared motionless during the attack, but detectives are uncertain whether she was asleep. “We’re not 100% sure,” said NYPD official Joseph Gulotta.
There was no prior interaction between the suspect and the victim, and police do not believe they knew each other, Mr. Gulotta added.
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Officers on patrol nearby detected smoke and rushed to investigate. Upon reaching the train, they found the victim completely ablaze.
The suspect, initially unnoticed, lingered on the platform just outside the train car. Bodycam footage from responding officers provided clear images of the man, aiding the investigation.
Later, three alert high school students spotted the suspect on another train and called 911. Officers intercepted the train at Herald Square station in Manhattan, near the Empire State Building, and arrested the man, who had a lighter in his pocket.
The suspect, identified as a Guatemalan immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in 2018, has not been publicly named. Commissioner Tisch commended the teens who reported him, stating, “They saw something, said something, and did something.”
Woman Dies after Being Set on Fire on New York Subway
