Woman dies after being set on fire on subway train tophyper

A suspect has been arrested in New York in connection with the death of a woman who was set on fire on a Brooklyn subway train.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident that occurred on Sunday as “one of the most horrific crimes that one person can commit against another human being.”

She said the woman was on a fixed F train heading to Brooklyn when she was approached by a man who used a lighter to ignite her clothes.

The victim died at the scene, she said, adding that the suspect was taken into custody after being detained on another subway train.

Police said the woman, whose name has not been released, was on a subway car at the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue station in Brooklyn around 07:30 local time (12:30 GMT) when she was approached by a man.

Police said there was no interaction prior to the attack, adding that they did not believe the two people knew each other.

The man got off the train as police officers patrolling the station rushed to the fire.

“Officers were patrolling the upstairs of that station, and they smelled smoke and saw smoke, and they went to investigate,” Tish said.

“What they saw was someone standing inside the train car completely engulfed in flames.”

Police are still working to determine the identity of the victim and the motive behind the attack.

“Unbeknownst to the responding officers, the suspect remained at the scene and was sitting on a bench on the platform outside the train car,” Tish added.

She explained that the responding officers were able to get a “very clear and detailed” look at the man and the images were released by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Three high school-age New Yorkers later called 911 to report that they recognized the suspect on another train, Tisch told reporters.

The man was subsequently located and arrested after officers boarded the train and walked through the subway cars.

Joseph Gulotta, of the New York Police Department, said investigators are still trying to determine whether the victim was asleep when she was set on fire.

“She’s definitely there, and she’s motionless,” Mr. Gulotta added.

“So to say whether she was asleep or not, we’re not 100% sure, but she seemed to be motionless in that spot.

“There is no interaction between the two. When the accident happens, there is no interaction between them.”