New York subway attack: Suspect arrested for killing woman set on fire

CNN
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A woman was killed on a New York City subway Sunday morning after a man set her clothes on fire with a lighter. Authorities are calling this a “brutal murder” and an example of “depraved behavior.”

The suspect was arrested at another subway station in Manhattan about eight hours after the attack, police said.

Police initially assumed the victim was sleeping at the time of the attack. While it is now unclear whether the victim was sleeping, she was “motionless” when the attack began, police said Sunday.

The attacker walked up to the woman without a word, set fire to her clothing and she was engulfed in flames “within seconds,” police said. Surveillance video appears to show the suspect sitting on a train station bench and watching the woman burn as police officers respond.

“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had remained at the scene, sitting on a bench on the platform directly in front of the train car, and the responding officers’ body-worn cameras provided a very clear, detailed view of the killer. said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. She noted that the suspect appeared calm when he initially approached the victim.

He is in custody and the investigation is still ongoing, a police spokesman told CNN.

Police did not identify the suspect other than to say he was an immigrant from Guatemala. The victim has not been identified.

An NYPD spokesperson told CNN more details would be released Monday morning.

CNN has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but did not immediately receive a response.

The attack occurred around 7:30 a.m. on an F train bound for Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn, sources said.

Police said they do not believe the victim and suspect knew each other.

Surveillance video from inside Inside the subway car, the suspect could be seen lighting a blanket the victim was wearing, and the fire spread until the victim stood up while engulfed in flames, said John Miller, chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst on CNN, in the “CNN Newsroom”.

Police body cameras and surveillance images were key to the suspect’s arrest, officials said in a news conference Sunday afternoon. Police released body camera images to the public and three high school-aged New Yorkers recognized the suspect and called police, Tisch said.

“Our officers in the Second District stopped this train in Herald Square and were able to keep the doors closed, escort the train and take this very dangerous individual into custody,” NYPD Traffic Services Chief Joseph Gulotta said at the press conference.

The 34th Street–Herald Square Station in bustling Midtown Manhattan is next to Macy’s department store, which was featured in the 1947 film The Miracle on 34th Street.

The suspect was found with a lighter in his pocket, the inspector said.

NYPD explains what happened when a woman was set on fire aboard the New York subway

Crime Stoppers offered up to $10,000 for information about the suspect.

According to police, no other passengers or first responders were injured in the incident.

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 on our subways and we are committed to ensuring swift justice is served for all victims of violent crime,” Adams said in a post on X.

At Sunday’s news conference, authorities noted the role of technology in quickly tracking down the suspect.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday measures to improve subway security ahead of the holidays by deploying an additional 250 National Guard members to New York City and ensuring that every subway car with Equipped with surveillance cameras.

According to Michael Kemper, chief security officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the “brutal murder” was filmed by one of these cameras.

“The key was to establish the identity using the body-worn cameras,” Felipe Rodriguez, a retired NYPD detective sergeant and associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said on “CNN Newsroom” Sunday.

The incident marked the second death on a New York subway on Sunday. Around 12:35 p.m., a stabbing attack on a southbound 7 train at 61 St-Woodside station in Queens left one person dead and one other person dead, CNN affiliate WABC reported. Authorities have arrested a 26-year-old man, whose identity has not been released.

According to Hochul’s office, crime has fallen 10% since the governor announced a subway security plan in May and 42% since January 2021, although a series of high-profile violent incidents in the subway system in recent years has some residents concerned have.

The city was under a “Code Blue” alert Saturday evening as additional resources and shelters were deployed to help those facing subfreezing temperatures, particularly homeless people who sometimes seek shelter in the subway during severe weather.

This is a developing story and will be updated.