The illegal migrant, who set a stranger on fire on a New York City subway, told officers he was drunk at the time of the incident and couldn't remember anything. Sebastian Zapeta-Calil has been charged with first-degree murder and arson after the woman, who is yet to be identified, died from burns on the F train in Brooklyn on Sunday.
Zapeta-Calil set the woman on fire while she was sleeping on the train and then sat back, watching as she burned and leaned dying against the carriage door. Law enforcement sources told The New York Post that Zapeta-Calil was arrested shortly after the incident with a lighter in his pocket.
Strange and Outrageous Defense
Zapeta-Calil reportedly told investigators he was drunk and had no memory of the event. He was seen prep walking out of the NYPD 60th Precinct in Coney Island on Monday afternoon. The victim's identity has not yet been released.
Disturbing footage captured the moment a man in a hoodie sat on the platform at Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, watching as the woman was consumed by flames.
In one video, Zapeta-Calil is seen sitting near the flames while other onlookers filmed the tragedy on their phones and police officers walked past.
Anonymous sources also told the Post that Zapeta-Calil was in the U.S. illegally after being deported from the Arizona border in June 2018. It is unclear how he managed to re-enter the country.
Zapeta-Calil appeared emotionless as he was prep walked out of the Coney Island police custody building on Monday, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground while wearing white police-issued overalls.
The disturbing videos of the subway arson attack sparked outrage online over the apparent lack of action by police at the scene.
As the woman burned and the suspect sat on a nearby bench, an NYPD officer was seen walking by, waving his hand in frustration but not intervening to arrest the suspect or help the victim.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch later sad at a press conference that the officers on the scene were unaware that the suspect was present at the time.
Social Media Outrage
Outraged social media users have slammed the police response, calling the actions of the officers "cowardly" and "shameful," and demanding that the officers involved be named or fired.
"I don't know which is more wild. The fact she's on fire and just standing there, or the guy who did it and is just sitting watching, the guy recording or the cop that just walked on by like all was normal," one user wrote.
"Police officer walks by. Doesn't take his jacket off to smother the flames. Not his problem. Guess he doesn't get paid too much. Can we find out who he is? His behavior is shameful," another user wrote on X.
Zapeta-Calil later reboarded the F train, but he was flagged by high school students at York Street Station in downtown Brooklyn, who identified him from police photos circulated on Sunday.
The NYPD notified the MTA, and the train was stopped eight stops later at Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan. Officers boarded the subway and arrested Zapeta-Calil while he sat in a crowded carriage, as seen in dramatic videos shared online.
During a press conference on Sunday night, Tisch commended the police response, calling it "an example of great technology and even greater old fashioned police work"
She also said that detectives do not believe Zapeta-Calil and the victim knew each other.
