NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Police have taken a suspect into custody who is accused of fatally setting a woman on fire while she rested aboard a Coney Island subway train on Sunday morning, officials announced during a press conference later in the day.
The suspect and victim were on an F train that was approaching the Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn at about 7:30 a.m. when the incident occurred, law enforcement officials said.
The woman was sitting and motionless, apparently sleeping, as the train pulled into the end-of-the-line station. She was then approached by the unknown man who used a lighter to spark her clothes, which went up in flames in seconds, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Officers were patrolling the platform when they smelt smoke, and upon moving toward the smell, they saw a commotion and discovered the woman ablaze.
She was on fire and surrounded by liquor bottles when officers arrived, police said. The subway car itself was not on fire.
Police and an MTA employee extinguished the fire and EMS declared the woman dead at the scene, authorities said.
Further investigation found that after the suspect lit the victim on fire, he exited the train car and watched the scene unfold from a bench across the platform from the train car.
Officials released photos of the suspect hours after the event and described him as a man between the ages of 25 and 30, 5 foot 6 inches tall and 150 pounds. In addition to the surveillance photos, police announced that a $10,000 reward was payable by Crime Stoppers is available for information regarding this incident.
Tish said that three high school aged New Yorkers called 911 when they recognized the suspect aboard a Manhattan and Queens-bound F train as it approached the York Street subway station in Brooklyn.
Police responded as the F train containing the suspect reached the Herald Square–34th Street subway station in Manhattan, and officers had the train stopped. Officials walked through each car until they recognized the suspect—who was clad in the same clothes he was wearing in the surveillance images form the scene of the murder—and took him into custody.
"I want to thank the young people who called 911 to help. They saw something, and they said something, and they did something," Tisch said. "This is another example of great technology and even greater, old-fashioned police work, with a huge assist from the public."
MTA Chief Security Officer Michael Kemper said during Sunday's press conference that thanks to Gov. Kathy Hochul and partners, 100% of subway cars are outfitted with surveillance cameras, which aided detectives in their investigation of the murder.
"Today's brutal murder was captured on one of those onboard train video cameras. It offered detectives immediately answers to questions that they had, what happened," he said. "It offered them images of the perpetrator."
Police have yet to publicly identify the person of interest or victim.
The murder comes only days after Hochul deployed an additional 250 National Guard members into the subway system to help patrol during the holiday season and conduct random bag checks in search of weapons.
During the announcement on Wednesday, Hochul pointed to the 10% drop in overall crime in the subway system since she initially deployed National Guard members, state police officers and MTA police officers to stations in March. The strategy was initially implemented after several high-profile crimes on city trains raised public concerns about the safety of using mass transit.
The murder investigation is still active and ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.