A man has been arrested in New York in connection with the tragic death of a woman who was set on fire aboard a subway train in Brooklyn.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch condemned the crime as “one of the most depraved acts one person could commit against another.”
The incident occurred on Sunday morning when the victim was aboard a stationary F train in Brooklyn.
A man approached her and used a lighter to set her clothing on fire.
The woman tragically died at the scene, and the suspect fled the train.
Police later arrested the man after receiving a tip-off from a group of high school students, who recognized him aboard a subway train later that day.
The victim, whose identity has not been disclosed, was sitting in the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time when the attack occurred.
Authorities said there was no prior interaction between the two and that they did not believe they knew each other.
As police officers patrolled the station, they noticed smoke and rushed to investigate.
What they found was a person fully engulfed in flames inside the subway car.
Officers were unaware that the suspect had stayed at the scene and was sitting on a nearby platform bench, where they were able to get a clear look at him.
Later, three high school students called 911 after recognizing the suspect on another train.
Responding officers tracked him down and arrested him at Herald Square station, near the Empire State Building in Manhattan.
The man was found with a lighter in his pocket at the time of his arrest.
The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, emigrated from Guatemala to the U.S. in 2018.
Authorities are still working to confirm the victim’s identity and the motive behind the attack.
Detectives are also investigating whether the victim was asleep when she was set on fire, as she was motionless when officers arrived at the scene.
Commissioner Tisch thanked the young witnesses who helped police apprehend the suspect, calling their actions a prime example of “seeing something, saying something, and doing something.”
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