A Guatemalan migrant has been arrested in connection with the gruesome death of a woman on a Brooklyn subway train. On Sunday morning, the 33-year-old suspect allegedly lit the 33-year-old victim’s clothing on fire, causing her to die at the scene. The attack occurred at 7:30am at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station when the train pulled in from the tunnel.
The NYPD Commissioner, Jessica Tisch, described the crime as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit.” Tisch said that the suspect, who arrived in the US from Guatemala in 2018, walked onto the train and used a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which quickly became fully engulfed in flames.
Patrolling cops smelled and saw the smoke, and followed it to the flame-covered woman, extinguishing the blaze and attempting to save her, but she died at the scene. The suspect then sat on a nearby bench, watching the chaos, before eventually leaving the area.
The suspect was eventually arrested after three high schoolers called police to report seeing him at another station on the F line, wearing the same clothes as the suspect in the images released by the NYPD. The suspect was found on a train leaving the station and was arrested without incident.
The victim’s identity has not been released. The NYPD Commissioner and Transit Chief praised the bravery and quick thinking of the witnesses who called 911, and the police who responded to the scene. The motive behind the attack is still unclear, and authorities do not believe the victim and suspect knew each other before the killing.