NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A man is wanted after he started four fires in lower Manhattan in slightly over two hours last week, and police released surveillance footage of the suspect on Wednesday to aid their investigation.
At about 2:20 a.m. on Friday, the man started a blaze that damaged a marked NYPD emergency vehicle parked in front of 254 Broadway. Fifteen minutes later, he started a second fire in front of 14 Murray St., damaging an unoccupied vehicle.
Police said that the arsonist set two more fires, one near the Brooklyn Bridge City Hall subway station and another on a northbound J train near the Woodhaven Avenue subway station in Queens.
The third fire began at 2:55 a.m. when the suspect lit a paper cup and threw it into a garbage can. Forty-five minutes later he had boarded a northbound J train and set a pile of garbage on fire next to a sleeping passenger, police said.
After the final fire, the suspect fled to parts unknown. There were no injuries reported and the incident is being investigated by the NYPD’s Arson and Explosion Unit.
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-577-TIPS.