‘Daniel Penny effect’ causing NYC spectators not to step in to help: critics

Critics are lashing out at the so-called “Daniel Penny effect” after several bystanders and even police officers appeared to stand by without helping as an innocent woman burned to death on a New York City subway car.

The heinous crime was allegedly carried out by an illegal immigrant who attacked the woman while she was sleeping. Sources tell Fox News that the woman has not yet been identified days after the horror because she was so badly burned.

Investigators also believe she was homeless and are working to track down any family members.

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Sources previously identified the person of interest to Fox News Digital as Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, as well as arson in the first instance.

Surveillance video of Sunday’s attack showed the suspect approaching the woman, who was sitting motionless and possibly sleeping, while aboard a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station, then setting her on fire.

It is also noted that the address Zapeta gave the police corresponds to the address of a substance abuse support center in NYC.

A man who lived at the same shelter Zapeta allegedly lived on, Zapeta smoked K2, a synthetic marijuana that can contain lots of different chemicals and drugs, “every day,” according to reporting by The New York Post.

The man also claimed that Zapeta would often smoke, drink and then “lose it”.

FAILED TO KILL WOMAN TO DEATH ON NYC SUBWAY IS FORMERLY DEPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

Zapeta is a former deported migrant from Guatemala who was apprehended by the Border Patrol and subsequently deported by the Trump administration in June 2018 after he illegally crossed into Sonoita, Arizona, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Marie Ferguson previously told Fox News, adding that Zapeta later entered the United States illegally.

Guardian Angel founder and local activist Curtis Sliwa told Fox News Digital that this latest act of violence on a New York-based subway is due to the “Daniel Penny effect.”

Describing the chaotic scene according to witnesses, Sliwa said no one helped the woman but that people filmed the whole ordeal but did not cooperate with law enforcement.

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“And I think it’s because of the chilling effect that the Daniel Penny situation had on this whole town. It wasn’t a racially divisive issue… but what I’ve found is that people just don’t want to get involved,” Sliwa said.

“They don’t want to be penetrated, as I call it, which means, thank God, dragged to court, prosecuted, and then have your life turned upside down.”

Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran, was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the subway death of Jordan Neely.

Penny was arrested in May 2023, nearly two weeks after he was questioned and released following a deadly encounter with Neely, who was high on drugs and threatening to kill people on a Manhattan F train when the 26-year-old architecture student grabbed him in a headlock from behind.

Neely also had an active warrant and lengthy criminal history at the time of his death. He had schizophrenia and a substance abuse problem.

Sliwa said this was similar to Neely’s case, and that sources say Zapeta had been smoking up to $30 a day on K2, plus heavily drinking cheap vodka, which he said is a “recipe for mayhem.”

“Nobody got involved, no police in that train. When the police responded. They didn’t do it quickly. And I think increasingly you’re going to see citizens just back off,” explained Sliwa.

Retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro also weighed in on the incident, explaining that a source told him an officer was looking for a fire extinguisher and police responded as quickly as they could under the circumstances.

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“Look, you can never completely cover the subway, no matter what anyone says. And with the size of the New York City subway system, the transit officers do a great job,” Mauro said.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul was slammed on social media Sunday after touting how safe New York City’s subway system has become thanks to her efforts, and claiming crime has dropped on Big Apple trains since she deployed the National Guard in March.

The woman was burned alive in the subway the same day. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office but did not hear back.

Fox News’ Alexis McAdams, Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Lorraine Taylor contributed to this report.

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]