Suspect arrested in the killing of a woman who was set on fire on a NYC subway car

By Lauren Mascarenhas, Gloria Pazmino and Hanna Park, CNN

(CNN) — A woman was killed on a New York subway train Sunday morning after a man set her clothes on fire with a lighter in what authorities are calling 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 believed the victim was sleeping at the time of the attack. While it’s now unclear whether the victim was asleep, she was “motionless” when the attack began, police said Sunday.

The assailant approached the woman without saying a word, ignited her clothes and she was enveloped in flames “in a matter of seconds,” police said. Surveillance video appears to show the suspect sitting on a station bench and watching the woman burn as police officers responded.

“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car, and the body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear detailed look at the killer,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. She noted the suspect appeared calm when he initially approached the victim.

He is in custody, with charges pending in an ongoing investigation, a police spokesperson told CNN.

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

A NYPD spokesperson told CNN more details will be released Monday morning.

CNN has reached out to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but did not immediately hear back.

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

Police said they don’t believe the victim and the suspect knew one another.

Surveillance video from inside the subway car showed the suspect setting alight a blanket the victim wore, and the fire expanded until the victim stood up while engulfed in flames, John Miller, CNN’s chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, said on “CNN Newsroom.”

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

“Our officers in District Two stopped that train in Herald Square, and (were) able to keep the doors closed, walk the train and place this very dangerous individual in custody,” NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said at the news conference.

The 34th Street–Herald Square station in bustling midtown Manhattan is next to the Macy’s department store that was featured in the 1947 film “Miracle on 34th Street.”

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

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

No other passengers or first responders were injured in the incident, police said.

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.

Authorities at Sunday’s news conference noted the role technology played in quickly tracking down the suspect.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced efforts to bolster subway safety ahead of the holidays, deploying an additional 250 National Guard members to New York City and ensuring every subway car is outfitted with security cameras.

The “brutal murder” was captured by one of those cameras, according to Michael Kemper, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s chief security officer.

“The key thing was getting the identification through the body-worn cameras,” said Felipe Rodriguez, a retired NYPD detective sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, on “CNN Newsroom” Sunday.

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

Hochul’s office says crime is down 10% since the governor announced a subway safety plan in May and 42% since January 2021, though a number of high-profile violent incidents in the subway system in recent years have left some residents uneasy.

The city was under a “Code Blue” alert Saturday night, when additional resources and shelter are deployed to help those vulnerable to freezing temperatures, especially homeless people, who sometimes seek shelter on the subway system during severe weather.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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