Migrant from Guatemala fatally sets woman ablaze on Subway Train in Brooklyn

In a very tragic incident, a migrant from Guatemala set a woman on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, early Sunday morning. The event occurred about 7:30 a.m. at Coney Island’s Stillwell Avenue Subway stop. The perpetrator has been arrested and identified as Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who is alleged to have entered the United States from Guatemala around a year ago. It is not clear whether he entered the United States legally or illegally. 

In a press conference after the incident, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, “As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim. The female victim was in a seated position.”

She further added, “The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds.”

The smell and sight of smoke alerted the station’s patrolling officers to the issue. As they arrived on the scene, they found a person completely consumed in flames inside the train car. An MTA employee assisted in putting out the fire by using a fire extinguisher. At the scene, the victim was declared dead.

Following the event, Zapeta stayed on the site. Outside the train, he was found sitting on a bench. Clear footage of the suspect was caught by responding police’ body-worn cameras. “The responding officers’ body-worn cameras provided a clear and detailed look at the killer,” Tisch said.

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Three high school students identified the man and dialed 911 after the suspect’s photos and description were made public. The suspect was found on a moving train by transit officials who verified the description. At the next station, the train was stopped, and officers got on board, recognized the individual, and took him into custody without any additional problems.

A number of people, including Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, also vented his anger on X, formerly Twitter. He shared the CCTV footage of the Guatemalan migrant in the subway with the caption, “Enough is enough.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed his condolences and said,“Grateful to the young New Yorkers and transit officers who stepped up to help our NYPD make a quick arrest following this morning’s heinous and deadly subway attack. This type of depraved behaviour has no place in our subways, and we are committed to working hard to ensure there is swift justice for all victims of violent crime.”