In a harrowing incident early Sunday morning, a woman was fatally set on fire aboard a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn, New York. The victim, who was reportedly sleeping at the time, was engulfed in flames after a man allegedly ignited her clothing.
NYPD officers on patrol detected smoke emanating from the idling train around 7:30 a.m. and discovered the woman fully engulfed in flames. Despite their immediate efforts to extinguish the fire, she was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim’s identity remains unknown, and authorities are working to determine whether she was homeless.
The suspect, described as a man in his 20s, allegedly used a lighter to set the woman’s clothing ablaze before fleeing the scene. He was apprehended later in the day after three high school students recognized him from surveillance images released by the police. The students alerted authorities, leading to the suspect’s arrest at the Jay and York Street station on the F line. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly wearing the same clothing as seen in the surveillance footage, and a lighter was found in his possession.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch condemned the act as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit,” highlighting the brutality of the attack. She also praised the quick thinking of the students who aided in the suspect’s capture, stating, “They saw something, and they said something, and they did something.”
This tragic event adds to a series of violent incidents in the New York City subway system, which has seen an uptick in crime despite increased security measures. Earlier this year, Governor Kathy Hochul deployed additional National Guard troops to address subway crime, resulting in a reported decrease in overall crime but a concerning rise in subway murders.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities seek to understand the motive behind this horrific attack and to confirm the victim’s identity.