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The woman died after being attacked fire while sleeping on a New York City metro car.
The incident happened on Sunday morning around 7:30 a.m. when the unidentified victim was sleeping on board F. the train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station.
The suspect was arrested later in the day.
According to the New York Police Department, an unidentified man approached the woman and lit her on fire with a lighter before leaving the train.
New York City Crime Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters Sunday night that the man committed “one of the most depraved crimes that one person could commit against another human being.”
The woman was “totally engulfed in seconds,” Tisch said, adding that officers were alerted by the smoke and extinguished the flames with the help of MTA workers. Graphic footage of the incident which has circulated on social media appears to show flames shooting out of the car as horrified bystanders look on.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. She was found with bottles of alcohol around her, although it was not immediately clear if they played any role in the fire, sources said. New York Post.
An MTA worker told the outlet that it looked like the woman’s clothes were completely “burnt.”
The NYPD later released a photo of the suspect, who is described as a man between 25 and 30 years old, approximately five-foot-six, and weighing 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, a dark knit cap with a red stripe and brown boots.
The man was taken into custody as a person of interest after police received a tip from three New York high school students who recognized the description and called 911, Tisch said.
It was confirmed that the suspect was on the moving train, which was stopped after the police radioed. The man was also found with a lighter in his pocket.
There was little information about the suspect, and the identity of the victim was not released.
It was later revealed that the person did not run away from the scene after the incident, but remained in the station and was recorded by one of the officers on police cameras.
“I want to thank the young people who called 911,” Tisch said. “They saw something, they said something and they did something. This is another example of great technology and even greater, old-fashioned police work with a tremendous amount of help from the public.”