NEW YORK (AP) — A woman died Sunday after a man set her on fire while she was seated in a subway car at Brooklyn’s Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station, police said, with a suspect later arrested following a citywide manhunt.
The attack occurred just before 7:30 a.m. when a man approached the apparently sleeping woman on a stationary F train and lit her clothes on fire without saying a word, according to police. The suspect then watched from the platform as officers and a Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker attempted to extinguish the flames.
“This person carried out one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being, and it took the life of an innocent New Yorker,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Sunday evening news conference.
The victim, who remained unidentified Sunday night, was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect was apprehended hours later on another F train after three high school students recognized him from police photos circulated in the media.
Transit Chief Joseph Gulotta said an officer spotted the suspect still wearing the same clothes from the attack. Police coordinated to stop the train and keep its doors closed at Herald Square station, where they made the arrest. The suspect, who immigrated from Guatemala in 2018, was found with a lighter, according to Tisch.
Investigators don’t believe the victim and attacker knew each other. The motive remains unclear.
The incident comes amid ongoing concerns about subway safety. In February, Governor Kathy Hochul deployed 1,000 State Police and National Guard members to the transit system following several violent crimes. Despite these high-profile incidents, officials report subway crime has decreased 42% since 2021 while ridership has increased 148%.
David Johnson, 64, who regularly sleeps in subway cars at the Coney Island terminal, said the station’s remote location makes it attractive both for homeless individuals seeking shelter and potential criminals.
“The trains are getting more dangerous,” Johnson said. “They pick on the weaker.”
The crime scene remained cordoned off Sunday afternoon as police and hazmat-suited workers examined the damaged subway car.
