New York City police and authorities are investigating a horrific incident that occurred on the subway over the weekend.
According to Fox News, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala was arrested in connection to the brutal killing of a woman who was lit on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday.
Investigators: Woman riding New York City subway train set on fire, killed >> https://t.co/Ixi9VVUH0p
— WDAM 7 (@wdam) December 23, 2024
Sources identified the person of interest as 33-year-old Sebastin Zapeta.
A high-level NYPD source told Fox News the suspect entered the U.S. illegally from Guatemala in 2018.
Zapeta reportedly has no prior arrests in New York City but one prior arrest in Arizona, the source said, though details about the arrest were not available.
New York Police Department (NYPD) officials said no charges had been filed in the case during a Sunday evening press conference.
The NYPD said the killing happened at the Stillwell Avenue Subway station in Coney Island at about 7:30 a.m.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, during a press conference on Sunday evening, provided more details into the horrific crime.
“As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim,” she said, explaining that the female victim was in a seated position.
“The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds.”
Officers were on patrol at the station when they smelled and saw smoke, prompting them to investigate the situation.
When they arrived, the officers saw a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames. The flames were ultimately put out with the help of an MTA employee and a fire extinguisher.
The victim was pronounced dead, the commissioner said.
Tisch also said the person of interest stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car.
Body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a clear and detailed look “at the killer,” Tisch said.
After sharing a description and pictures of the suspect with the public, three high school-aged New Yorkers called 911 to report that they recognized the suspect.
Transit officers responded to speak with the high schoolers and also saw a man matching the description provided to the public on another moving train.
The train was ordered to stop at the next station, where two transit officers boarded and located the person of interest before arresting him without further incident. Tisch added that the person of interest was found with a lighter in his pocket.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his prayers are with the family of the victim in “this senseless killing.”
“Grateful to the young New Yorkers and transit officers who stepped up to help our NYPD make a quick arrest following this morning’s heinous and deadly subway attack,” Adams wrote. “This type of depraved behavior has no place in our subways and we are committed to working hard to ensure there is swift justice for all victims of violent crime.”