A woman has died after being set on fire while sleeping on a New York City subway train, with police arresting a suspect following the horrific attack.
The incident occurred at around 7.30am on Sunday morning aboard a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described it as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being”.
Officers discovered the woman “fully engulfed in flames” after noticing smoke and commotion on the platform during a routine patrol.
A woman was set on fire at the station
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The scene the morning after the incident
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Emergency medical personnel pronounced the unidentified woman dead at the scene after the fire was extinguished. Surveillance footage showed the suspect and victim were both riding the train early that morning, with no interaction between them.
The attacker “calmly” approached the motionless woman, who appeared to be sleeping, and used what police believe was a lighter to ignite her clothing.
Her clothes “became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds”, according to Commissioner Tisch.
Police officers patrolling the station above the platform noticed smoke and rushed to investigate. An MTA worker assisted officers in extinguishing the flames, but they were unable to save the woman’s life.
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Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station
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The suspect remained at the scene after the attack, sitting on a bench on the platform outside the train car.
Police later arrested a suspect after three high school students recognised him from widely distributed photographs and police body camera footage.
The man was apprehended while riding another subway train, with officers finding a lighter in his pocket.
Detectives from the NYPD said they do not believe the suspect and victim knew each other before the attack.
Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station
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Police investigates the scene where a woman died after being lit on fire by a man aboard an MTA subway train
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“New Yorkers came through again,” Commissioner Tisch said, praising the teenagers who alerted authorities.
Mayor Eric Adams expressed gratitude to “the young New Yorkers and transit officers who stepped up to help our NYPD make a quick arrest”.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has deployed National Guard members to the city’s subway system to help police conduct random bag searches.