A woman was tragically killed on a New York City subway train after being set on fire. The incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. on a Sunday at the Stillwell Avenue station in Coney Island, Brooklyn, where the woman was found engulfed in flames on an idling F train. The suspect, identified as a migrant from Guatemala named Sebastian Zapeta, was arrested following the incident. He allegedly used a lighter to ignite the woman's clothing while she was sleeping, and then watched as she burned.
The NYPD, along with help from the public, particularly three high school students who recognized the suspect from images released by the police, led to his quick arrest. At the time of his arrest, he was found with a lighter in his pocket. The suspect had entered the U.S. through Arizona in 2018, and there was no prior criminal record for him in New York City at the time of the incident.
This horrific event has sparked significant public outrage and has reignited discussions about subway safety and immigration policies. The crime scene was processed by authorities, and the woman's charred body was removed from the train, deeply affecting witnesses and MTA workers present. The incident has been described as one of the most depraved crimes by the NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.