One Arrested As Woman Set On Fire In NYC Subway Dies

A man has been arrested in New York in connection with the horrific death of a woman who was set on fire aboard a subway train in Brooklyn.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the crime, which occurred on Sunday, as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being”.

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According to police, the woman was on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station around 7:30 a.m. local time (12:30 GMT) when a man approached her and used a lighter to ignite her clothing.

The victim, whose identity has not yet been released, tragically died at the scene. Authorities believe the two did not know each other, and there was no interaction before the attack.

Officers patrolling an upper level of the station smelled and saw smoke, prompting them to investigate.

“What they saw was a person inside the train car fully engulfed in flames,” Tisch said. The suspect, unbeknownst to the officers, remained at the scene, sitting on a bench near the train.

His appearance was captured in images circulated by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Later that day, three high school students recognized 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 was found carrying a lighter in his pocket.

“I want to thank the young people who called 911 to help,” Tisch said. “They saw something, they said something, and they did something.”

The suspect, whose name has not been publicly disclosed, emigrated from Guatemala to the United States in 2018. Police are still working to identify the victim and determine the motive for the attack.