In what is being called a “senseless killing”, a man in New York has been arrested for igniting a woman in a train car and watching her burn to death. Narrating the incident during a press briefing, Jessica Tisch, New York Police Department Commissioner defined it as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being.” It took the life of an “innocent New Yorker”.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning, around 7:30 am when the man and the victim were riding an F train to the end of the line at Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn.
“As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim, who is in a seated position at the end of a subway car. The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds,” said Ms Tisch.
Officers on patrol on that station’s upper level smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate. They saw a person, standing inside a train car, fully engulfed in flames.
“With the help of an MTA employee and fire extinguisher, the flames were put out. Unfortunately, it was too late and the victim was pronounced (dead) on the scene,” Ms Tisch added.
According to the New York Police, the suspect had stayed on the scene. The man was found seated on a bench, on a platform, just outside the train car. The body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a detailed look at the killer.
“After the NYPD disseminated those images, 3 High School age New Yorkers called 911 to say that they recognise the suspect,” she added.
The man was arrested from another train and was found with a lighter in his pockets.
There was no interaction between the two – victim and the suspect, said NYPD’s Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta. “We don’t believe they knew each other,” he added.
The woman has not yet been identified.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday praised the people who helped alert authorities to the suspect.
“This type of depraved behavior has no place in our subways and we are committed to working hard to ensure there is swift justice for all victims of violent crime,” Adams said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Grateful to the young New Yorkers and transit officers who stepped up to help our NYPD make a quick arrest following this morning’s heinous and deadly subway attack.
This type of depraved behavior has no place in our subways and we are committed to working hard to ensure there… https://t.co/TWs3iaC099
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) December 22, 2024
“My prayers are with the family of the victim in this senseless killing,” he added.