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NYPD: Person of interest in custody after woman burned to death aboard train in Coney Island

Detectives say it happened on a Brooklyn-bound F train that was pulling into the Stillwell Avenue Station just after 7:30 a.m.

Rob Flaks, Jodi-Juliana Powell, Roberto Torres and News 12 Staff

Dec 23, 2024, 4:11 AM

Updated yesterday

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The NYPD says a person of interest is in custody after a woman was set on fire and killed aboard a train in Coney Island Sunday morning.
Detectives say it happened on a Brooklyn-bound F train that was pulling into the Stillwell Avenue Station just after 7:30 a.m.
Police determined that the incident was a homicide.
Police said no other passengers were hurt in the fire.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised police and the public's prompt response in the man's capture within less than 12 hours of the incident. She also praised the universal camera system on the New York City subways and police body camera footage with helping in the capture.
"As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim in a dreaded position. He used what we believe was a lighter to ignite the victim fully in a matter of seconds," Tisch said.
Tisch said police believe the man was on the scene as the woman, who had yet not been identified as of Sunday night, was seton fire. Police were able to extinguish the flames before she died on the scene.
Police believe the man then left, but not before his image was captured by both subway and police body-worn cameras. The image was then plastered on wanted posters and online. They say a person who matched the description was identified at the J and York Street station.
She said transit officers also saw the person matching the description moving onto another train.
Officers then ordered the train to a stop, boarded the train and located and arrested the person of interest without incident, Tisch said.
"Three high school-age New Yorkers called 911 to say they recognized the suspect," Tisch said. The man's identity had not been released as of Sunday night but Tisch confirmed he immigrated from Guatemala in 2018.
Tisch said transit officers also saw the person matching the description moving onto another train.
Officers then ordered the train to a stop, boarded the train and located and arrested the person of interest without incident, Tisch said.
NYPD's news conference on the woman who was burned to death aboard a train in Coney Island.
The person of interest was also found with a lighter, according to Tisch.
The incident occurred as the second violent attack in a Brooklyn subway in as many days, as two men were shot in the leg on a Q train in Homecrest Saturday.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.