A person of interest was taken into custody on Sunday afternoon after a woman was set on fire and killed that same morning on a New York City subway train.
The incident is being investigated as a homicide.
An unidentified woman was believed to be asleep on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station at about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday “when an unknown male individual approached and lit the victim on fire,” police said.
Police said do not believe the two knew each other, and they did not interact prior to the incident. The man allegedly used a lighter to set the victim’s clothing on fire.
The suspect then left the subway car, police said.
Police smelled smoke and went to the train to investigate, where they found the woman standing inside the car “fully engulfed in flames.”
She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not yet identified the victim.
Sunday evening, police said they had taken a person of interest into custody. The individual has not yet been publicly named.
Images of the suspect were captured on officers’ body cameras, as that person stayed on the scene after the incident, sitting on a nearby bench.
Those images were released, and police requested the public’s assistance in identifying the man.
Three high school students recognized him and contacted police, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a press conference Sunday evening.
“New Yorkers came through again,” Tisch said.
The man was taken into custody in a subway car at Herald Square, and police said he was found with a lighter in his pocket.
Prior to his arrest, police said the man was about 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds, and he appeared to be between 25 and 30 years old.
The man wore a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, a dark-colored knit hat with a red band and brown boots, police said.
A $10,000 reward was offered to the public for tips leading to an arrest.
