A Guatemalan migrant has been arrested for setting a sleeping subway passenger on fire in Brooklyn early Sunday morning, then standing by as the victim tragically burned to death. New York's police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, described the act as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit."
The harrowing incident place around 7:30 a.m. on an F train parked at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station, leaving commuters, MTA employees, and officials stunned. Tisch condemned the atrocity, saying "took the life of an innocent New Yorker." The suspect has been identified as Sebastin Zapeta, 33, and a chilling video has emerged that shows the passenger burning to death.
Watching the Victim Burn o Death
"As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim, who was in a seated position at the end of a subway car ... and used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim's clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds," Tisch said at a press conference.
Officers on patrol noticed the smell and sight of smoke before finding the woman engulfed in flames, the commissioner said. They managed to put out the fire, but the woman succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
Disturbing video footage captured the suspect standing calmly and watching as the flames consumed the unidentified woman, who was positioned near the open doors of the subway car.
A transit officer passed by, appeared to use their radio to report something, and then proceeded along the platform. After the officer walked past, the suspect stood up as if preparing to leave, but the video ended shortly afterward.
In a separate clip, officers could be heard shouting to the crowd that had gathered, "Did anyone see anything? Did anybody see anything?" as smoke continued to billow from the subway car.
Meanwhile, the suspect boldly remained seated on a nearby bench, pulling his hood up at one point as police gathered around. An officer eventually addressed him, saying, "Can you do me a favor? Walk down there," gesturing further along the platform with his radio. "I need this space cleared up."
The man then rose from the bench and walked away from the scene.
Left the Scene Calmly
"Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car," Tisch said.
"The body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear, detailed look at the killer."
Zapeta was arrested while riding a train at the 34th Street station in Manhattan. According to the New York Post, three high school students spotted the suspected killer at the station and flagged down the police.
When transit officers arrived, they found the suspect already on board another train, still dressed in the same gray hoodie, wool hat, and paint-splattered pants he was reportedly wearing when he set the woman on fire.
Cops coordinated to stop the train at Herald Square, then searched each car until they located and apprehended the suspect, according to officials. Tisch added that a lighter was found in the suspect's pocket at the time of his arrest.
Investigators believe the suspect didn't know the victim. Police sources revealed that the suspect entered the United States in June 2018, where he was detained by border patrol agents in Arizona. As of now, authorities have not found any prior criminal history for Zapeta in New York City.
Officials are still working to determine the suspect's legal status in the country.
