A Guatemalan migrant identified as Sebastian Zapeta set a woman ablaze on the F Train at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn, New York. Footage captured by a man showed the yet-to-be-identified woman engulfed in flames standing at the entrance of the train while the man that set her on fire sat calmly on a bench and just watched.
It was gathered that the woman was sleeping on one of the seats in the subway car, another account said she was just seated when her attacker set her on fire with a lighter/matches without any prior provocation or conversation.
Watch the video below:
The crime happened around 7.30 am on Sunday. The inferno and smoke drew the attention of nearby police officers patrolling the area. However, the officers did not know that the man seated at the forefront of the crime scene was in fact the perpetrator.
The viral video showed an officer walking past the Guatemalan migrant who was seated calmly and watching the woman burn to death. Another footage showed the attacker fanning the burning woman with his jacket.
The police later asked him to move away from the crime scene. The people standing by and cops who were seen walking to and fro as if there were no fire extinguisher in any of the train coaches were berated for their zero effort to quench the flames off the woman – an act referred to as the “Daniel Penny Effect”.
The Daniel Penney factor refers to the public fear of getting involved and rendering aid in an emergency situation for fear of unknown legal implications. Its history is traced to Daniel Penny who was accused of murder after he restrained a homeless man who was venting about being hungry, thirsty, and preferring to go to jail.
The Guatemalan’s identity was revealed by eyewitnesses who had recorded the event with their mobile phones, and he was arrested on another subway train at Herald Square – still with the alleged lighter.
By the time emergency responders could quench the fire burning the woman and provide medical aid, she had already died. Her charred remains lay there and were removed hours later.
Investigations revealed that the migrant came to the United States through Arizona in 2018. Though he was deported by Trump’s anti-immigration administration, he re-entered and made his way to NYC where he lived in the state-provided shelter. Checks also revealed he had no criminal record in New York City. Though no confessionary statements have been obtained from the suspect currently, he is still under interrogation.
New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, commended the public for their role in helping the police to apprehend the suspect. She revealed that the suspect’s images were obtained from witnesses’ camera footage and the photos were broadcast to the public, who in turn further helped to track and arrest the fleeing suspect.
The NYPD offered $10,000 for information that would lead to the suspect’s arrest. No information has been gotten so far on the winner(s) of the reward.
The fiery crime came as a slap to the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, who made a video yesterday where she claimed the subway are a lot safer due to over a thousand security personnel manning it, and cited doing not-last-minute holiday shopping with her 2-year-old granddaughter while commuting in the subway trains. Watch:
