Woman dies after being set on fire on New York City subway train

A sleeping woman was set on fire on a New York subway train by a man who appeared to sit and watch her burn to death.

The victim is believed to have been sleeping on a stationary train at Coney Island-Stillwell subway station in Brooklyn on Sunday morning when the suspect calmly approached her and set her clothes on fire, police said.

The man then got off the train and watched from a bench on the platform as police officers on patrol in the station rushed to put out the blaze.

The woman, who has not yet been identified, was declared dead at the scene.

The suspect, a 33-year old from Guatemala who has not been named, was arrested later on Sunday.

The subway train — The attack happened on an F train in Brooklyn – Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty

The New York Police Department (NYPD) said that there had been no prior interaction between the man and the woman and they did not believe they knew each other.

As the train pulled into the station at 7.30am local time, the attacker used what appeared to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing “which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds”, Jessica Tisch, the NYPD commissioner, told a press conference.

Footage published on social media showed a man sitting motionless on a platform bench in front of the burning woman.

“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,” Ms Tisch added on Sunday night.

The burning woman is blurred out in this picture — An onlooker filmed the woman burning to death on the train

In one video, a police officer appeared to speak to the suspect, motioning down the platform with his radio and saying: “Do me a favour? Walk down there. I need this space cleared up.”

The man – dressed in a grey hoodie – stood up and then left the scene.

CCTV on the subway and police body cameras “produced a very clear, detailed look at the killer”, said Ms Tisch, who called the killing “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another”.

The suspect had emigrated from Guatemala to the US in 2018, said Joseph Gulotta, the chief of transit for the NYPD. Sources told the New York Post he had been living in a homeless shelter.

Police tape marks off the station where the train is still parked — The Coney Island station later that day – Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty

Also on Sunday, one person was killed and another injured in a stabbing on the subway near Queens.

As of November, nine people had been killed on the subway in 2024, compared to five in the same period in 2023, according to police data.

Earlier this month, Daniel Penny was acquitted of homicide after he put an unarmed homeless man, Jordan Neely, in a chokehold on the city’s subway last year.

Mr Neely, 30, a former Michael Jackon impersonator with a history of mental illness, had been shouting at passengers with Mr Penny, 26, grabbed him from behind and put him in chokehold for over five minutes.

The case sparked weeks of protests and a fierce debate over race, public safety on transport and how the city deals with issues of mental health and homelessness.

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