What to know about the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) – New York police have a person in custody who is believed to have set a woman on fire in the subway early Sunday and watched from a bench as she was engulfed in flames and died.

Surveillance video showed the man calmly approach the woman, who was sitting motionless and possibly asleep, while aboard a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station, then set her on fire.

Her clothes “were completely engulfed in a matter of seconds,” said New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who described the case as “one of the most depraved crimes a person could possibly commit against another human being.”

The man then sat on a nearby bench outside the train car and watched as officers and a transit worker extinguished the flames. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man was arrested hours later while riding the same metro line.

The suspect and victim did not appear to know each other and did not interact prior to the incident, police said.

What is the latest

The police have the man in custody, but have not yet released his identity. The woman’s name has not yet been released.

Authorities had circulated images of the man from surveillance cameras and police body camera videos taken at the crime scene. A group of high school students tipped off police to the man’s presence on a train later Sunday, and he was arrested.

He was wearing the same clothes and had a lighter in his pocket when he was apprehended, the police say.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez released a statement saying “we will do everything in our power to ensure accountability in this case.”

What kind of police presence is there in the metro?

The police patrol the New York City subways, and there is a large network of cameras in stations and in all subway cars.

But the sheer size of the subway system — 472 stations with multiple entry points and millions of riders every day — makes the police transit system a logistical nightmare.

In Sunday’s incident, officers were at the station but were patrolling a different subway platform. They responded after seeing and smelling smoke from the fire.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year directed members of the state’s National Guard to assist with random bag checks at certain stations.

Is crime up in the subways?

Violent incidents in the subway, people often put themselves on edge, partly because many New Yorkers take the train several times a day and often have their own experiences with unpleasant interactions in the system.

Overall, crime is down in the city transit system this year compared to the same period in 2023. Data compiled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows a 6% drop in what the agency calls major crimes between January and November of this year and 2023.

At the same time, homicides in the transit system are up with nine homicides this year through November compared to five during the same period last year.

High-profile incidents on the train, such as Daniel PennyA military veteran who strangled an agitated New York subway rider and was acquitted of manslaughter this month often attracts national attention and further nervous passengers.