SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
New York: New York City Police were seeking a man on Sunday they believe is connected to the early morning death of a woman who was sleeping on a stationary subway train before she was intentionally lit on fire.
Police said an unknown male had approached the woman, set her on fire and then left the subway car around 7.30am.
The Stillwell Avenue Terminal in Brooklyn.Credit: AP
Officers on a routine patrol at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station soon discovered the unidentified woman ablaze, in the middle of the train, after they smelled smoke and noticed some commotion on the platform, said Detective Austin Glickman.
After the fire was extinguished, emergency medical personnel declared the unidentified woman dead at the scene, he said.
Police said in a written statement they are asking for the public’s assistance in the case, which is being investigated as a homicide. A reward of up to $US10,000 is being offered for information.
The man is described as approximately 25 to 30 years old, last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, a dark-coloured knit hat with a red band and brown boots.
The man got off the car as police officers on patrol in the station rushed to the blaze.
“What they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference.
The officers used fire extinguishers to put out the fire and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders, police said.
Police arrested a suspect, who has not been publicly identified, as he rode the subway later on Sunday.
Police said they were still investigating the victim’s identity and the reason for the attack.
About four million trips are taken each weekday on the city’s subway, where violent crime is relatively rare. As of November, there had been nine homicides reported on the subway in 2024, compared to five in the same period in 2023, according to police data.
There was another fatality on the New York subway on Sunday with police responding to an emergency call at 12.35am for an assault in progress at the 61st Street-Woodside Station in Queens and found a 37-year-old man with a stab wound to his torso and a 26-year-old man with multiple slashes throughout his body. The older man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital while the younger man was in stable condition, police said.
An investigation is continuing.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during a campaign event in 2022.Credit: AP
New York Governor Kathy Hochul this year has sent New York National Guard members to the city’s subway system to help police conduct random searches of riders’ bags for weapons following a series of high-profile crimes on city trains. Hochul recently deployed additional members to help patrol during the holiday season.
AP, Reuters
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