NEW YORK (AP) — The person accused of fatally setting a lady on hearth inside a New York Metropolis subway prepare used his shirt to fan the flames, inflicting her to develop into engulfed within the blaze, a prosecutor stated Tuesday.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who federal immigration officers stated is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, made his first courtroom look and was arraigned in Brooklyn felony courtroom.
He appeared briefly earlier than a decide and wore a white jumpsuit over a weathered black hooded sweatshirt. He didn’t converse. He’ll stay jailed forward of his subsequent courtroom date on Friday.
The apparently random assault occurred Sunday morning on a stationary F prepare on the Coney Island station in Brooklyn. Police stated Tuesday that identification of the sufferer was nonetheless “pending right now.”
Authorities say Zapeta approached the lady, who was sitting immobile within the prepare automobile and will have been sleeping, and used a lighter to set her clothes on hearth. Zapeta then used his shirt to fan the flames, resulting in her turning into engulfed within the hearth, Assistant District Legal professional Ari Rottenberg stated on Tuesday.
Zapeta then sat at a bench on the subway platform and watched, in accordance with police.
Rottenberg added that beneath interrogation Zapeta stated he didn’t know what occurred, noting that he consumes alcohol. However he alleged that Zapeta recognized himself to interrogators in photographs associated to the assault.
Video posted to social media appeared to indicate the lady standing contained in the prepare ablaze as some individuals look on from the platform, and no less than one officer walks by. NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta stated Sunday that a number of officers had responded to the fireplace and one stayed to maintain the crime scene “the way in which it’s purported to be” whereas the others went to get hearth extinguishers and transit staff.
They have been finally in a position to douse the fireplace, however “sadly, it was too late,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated — the lady was pronounced lifeless on the scene.
Zapeta was taken into custody Sunday afternoon whereas using a prepare on the identical subway line after police received a tip from some youngsters who acknowledged him from photographs circulated by the police.
A Brooklyn deal with for Zapeta launched by police matches a shelter that gives housing and substance abuse assist. The shelter didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Federal immigration officers stated Zapeta had been beforehand deported in 2018 however sooner or later reentered the U.S. illegally.
In an announcement, Brooklyn District Legal professional Eric Gonzalez referred to as the assault a “grotesque and mindless act of violence in opposition to a susceptible girl” that might be “met with probably the most critical penalties.”
The crime — and the graphic video of it that ricocheted throughout social media — deepened a rising sense of unease amongst some New Yorkers in regards to the security of the subway system in a metropolis the place many residents take the subway a number of occasions every day.
Total, in accordance with authorities, crime is down within the transit system this 12 months when in comparison with final 12 months — main felonies declined 6% between January and November of this 12 months and in 2023, information compiled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority present. However murders are up, with 9 killings this 12 months by means of November in comparison with 5 in the identical interval final 12 months.
Earlier this month, a Manhattan jury acquitted Daniel Penny within the loss of life of an agitated subway rider that the previous Marine positioned in a chokehold final 12 months. The case grew to become a flashpoint in ongoing debates over security, homelessness and psychological sickness on the system.
Policing the subway can also be tough, given the huge community of trains consistently transferring between the system’s 472 stations, with every cease containing a number of entry factors and, in lots of stations, a number of flooring and platforms.
We Want Your Assist
Assist JHB
Already contributed? Log in to cover these messages.
On Sunday, police on the station the place the lady burned to loss of life have been patrolling a unique space and responded after seeing and smelling smoke, authorities stated.