Guatemalan Suspect Arrested For Allegedly Setting Woman On Fire In NYC Subway

The incident took place inside a NYC transit subway car

A Guatemalan migrant was arrested after allegedly killing a woman by setting her on fire as she slept in a subway car.

According to the New York Post, the man, who has not been identified, was taken into custody after a woman who was sleeping on an F train in Brooklyn was set on fire at around 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 22. Police state that after performing the horrific act, the suspect watched as the woman burned to death. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that it was “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit.”

The commissioner held a press conference on Sunday announcing the suspect’s arrest.

“As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim, who was in a seated position at the end of a subway car … and used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds,” Tisch told members of the press.

The video of the incident made its rounds on the internet, showing the woman on fire.

The incident occurred inside a sitting F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station. The woman is seen in the video standing with flames engulfing her, and according to officials, the man is also seen in the video clip, watching her die as it shows a police officer walking by and seemingly talking on his walkie-talkie.

The unidentified woman died at the scene.

The suspect was even approached by a police officer when he instructed the migrant to move from the area.

“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,” Tisch said. Tisch did say that body cams captured the suspect’s face.

Hours later, after the NYPD released photos of the suspected arsonist and killer, police were summoned by three high school students who reported that they saw the suspect on a subway train at the Jay and York Street station on the F line, according to Tisch and the NYPD’s Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta.

Transit police officers found the suspect on another train leaving the station. He was wearing the same gray hoodie, wool hat, and paint-splattered pants he had on when he allegedly set the woman ablaze. Officers had the train stopped at Herald Square. They went in each car until they found the suspect and arrested him, police officials said.

“I want to thank the young people who called 911 to help,” Tisch said. “They saw something, and they said something, and they did something.”

Officials said the suspect, 33, came to the U.S. in 2018 from Guatemala.