In a horrifying turn of events a woman was burned to death aboard an F train in Coney Island, New York, on Sunday morning after a man allegedly threw a lit match at her, causing her to catch fire, according to police sources.
NYPD officers responded to reports of a fire at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station shortly before 7:30 am and found the woman engulfed in flames on an idling train. Emergency services declared her dead at the scene.
Alex Gureyev, 39 year old Brooklyn construction manager said, “It’s scary.”
Sources said the victim was surrounded by liquor bottles, though it is uncertain if they played a role in the fire. The woman appeared to have been sleeping when a man in his 20s, seated across from her, approached and threw the match. The suspect fled the station and the motive behind the attack remains unclear.
In a video that has captured the incident, the man accused of setting the passenger on fire can be seen calmly on a bench, watching as she burned to death. Disturbing footage obtained by The Post shows the suspect nonchalantly observing the flames engulf the woman, who was standing by the door of the subway car as the train idled.
A transit officer walks by the open door and appears to briefly speak into his radio as he continues down the platform. After the officer passes, the suspect, described as a 25- to 30-year-old man, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing around 150 pounds, stands up, seemingly to leave. The video then cuts off.
The suspect was last seen wearing a gray hoodie, jeans, brown boots, and a dark knit hat with a red band, according to the NYPD. Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for any information that could lead to his arrest.
The incident had shocked commuters as the woman’s body was carried out of the station inside a black body bag just after 1 pm, as per the New York Post.
“It’s incredible,” a commuter said.
An MTA worker described the scene to The Post, saying the woman’s clothes appeared to have been completely “burned off.”
“I was just walking by. The cops were already there. I didn’t see her in flames but that’s what I heard. It was out. They shut the lights off [in the car] so nobody could see,” the worker said.
Commuters continuously paused in their tracks while transferring trains to take in the horrific scene.
Gureyev said, “It’s going down hill a bit. Everybody keeps saying it’s going back to the seventies. It’s a frequent occurrence — not like this, setting people on fire — but like the mugging, the killings, the fighting, the shootings, they’re really common nowadays. [It’s] very bad.”
The incident comes as New York Governor Kathy Hochul has increased National Guard patrols in the city’s subway system for the holiday season. The deployment brings the total number of guards to 1,000 as part of a $100 million security initiative. While Governor Hochul claimed a 10 per cent drop in transit crime since March, the murder rate in the subway system has risen by at least 60 per cent this year.
Violent Weekend in NYC Transit
- Queens Stabbing: Just after midnight on Sunday, a fight among five men on a southbound 7 train at Woodside Avenue and 61st Street turned deadly. A 69-year-old man allegedly stabbed one person in the chest and another in the face. The victim stabbed in the chest died at the hospital. The suspect is in custody and awaiting charges.
- Assault on D Train: At 4:30 am, a passenger threw a can at the conductor of a northbound D train, forcing it out of service. The 38-year-old conductor was hospitalized in stable condition. The attacker remains at large.
These incidents underscore ongoing safety concerns in New York City’s subway system, even as millions of holiday visitors descend upon the city.