New York police have taken into custody a man they believe is connected to the early morning death of a woman who was deliberately set on fire at a subway station.
The incident happened Sunday morning on the F train at the end of the line at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station. Brooklyn.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in an evening press conference that surveillance footage indicated the victim and her attacker were both taken by train early in the morning. As the train pulled into the station, the assailant walked up to the woman, who may be sleeping, Tisch said, and used what authorities say was a lighter to set the victim’s clothing on fire.
Officers patrolling the station smelled smoke and noticed a commotion on the platform, and soon discovered an unidentified woman standing in a subway car.
After the fire was extinguished, emergency medical personnel pronounced the woman dead at the scene.
Tisch said the individual photos of the attacker may facilitate the apprehension of a person of interest. Passing police apprehended a suspect reported by three high school students who recognized the man.
Police did not identify the person in custody. The victim had not yet been identified, authorities said.
The train car was sitting idle at the end of the line at the time of the incident. The doors are often left open so that the railway car can be cleaned or during a period of time in service.
The accident marked the second fatality on the New York subway on Sunday.
At 12.35am, police responded to an emergency call for an assault in progress at the 61st Queen Street-Woodside station and found a 37-year-old man with a stab wound to the torso and a 26-year-old man with multiple stab wounds. the whole body bipenny. The elderly man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, while the minor was in stable condition, police said.
The investigation continued.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul this year sent members of the New York National Guard to the city’s subway system to help police conduct random searches of armed bags following a series of high-profile crimes on city trains. Hochul recently also directed additional members to assist the patrol during the holidays.