"Calmly Watched"... Man Sets Fire to Sleeping Woman's Clothes on New York Subway

Image of the Guatemalan immigrant suspect wanted by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

A Guatemalan immigrant was arrested on Sunday morning in Brooklyn for setting fire to a sleeping subway passenger. The shocking footage shows the man watching as the innocent victim burns to death.

According to CNN and the New York Post on the 22nd (local time), around 7:30 a.m., the suspect approached the victim on the subway, deliberately set them on fire, and fled. Both the suspect and the victim were on the F train heading to the line’s terminal at Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn. Police believe the suspect used a match to ignite the victim’s clothing, which was engulfed in flames within seconds. Officers on routine patrol at the station discovered the burning victim inside the subway. Authorities extinguished the fire, and emergency responders arrived at the scene, but the woman died.

Police believe the victim was asleep at the time of the attack. Internal footage shows the suspect setting fire to the blanket the victim was wearing, and as the flames spread, the victim stood up engulfed in fire. The suspect exited the train and sat on a station bench, watching the victim rise while burning.

The police released footage of the suspect and offered a $10,000 reward. Eight hours after the incident, the suspect was found and arrested on another train in downtown Manhattan. The suspect is Sebastian Zapetada, a Guatemalan immigrant. He is known to have been detained by border patrol agents in Arizona in June 2018. The victim’s identity has not yet been confirmed.