According to New York City police, a guy who was identified as a person of interest in the hunt for a suspect who killed a woman who was sleeping in a subway car by setting it on fire was arrested on Sunday.
“A person of interest is in custody,” Michael Kemper, the security chief for the city’s transportation authority, stated during a press conference on Sunday night. The man’s identification will be made public after charges are made public, according to the NYPD public information office.
“There must be strong, swift consequences on this person,” Kemper stated. “There is no room in civilized society for people like him to be walking around.”
During the press conference, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that a wanted individual was identified by a wanted flyer and that an officer’s body camera had captured clear images of the suspect sitting on a platform bench in the area shortly after the crime.
“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform, just outside the train car, and the body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear, detailed look at the killer,” she continued.
According to NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta, investigators were able to identify the man in the body camera film after he departed the location thanks to security camera footage.
Gulotta stated that “no one on the scene identified him as being there,” referring to the fact that a man who was later identified as a suspect was only a few feet away when police arrived and some onlookers fled the fire.
“Our officers, when they responded, had no indication he was part of this incident,” stated the commander. “We were not led in that path by anything. Once more, the cameras led us there and in that direction, and we were later able to determine that he was involved.
A person of interest wearing clothes that seemed to fit that suspect’s description was sighted hours later.
According to Tisch, three motorcyclists who were referred to as “high school-age” made the discovery and dialed 911. She added that after officers boarded the train, they located the man and arrested him.
Just before 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, the police department reported that the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, was dozing off on an unoccupied F train at the Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn. According to authorities, a man approached her there, set her on fire, and then ran out of the subway.
Tisch claimed that the individual “calmly walked up to the victim and used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing.”
According to police during the news conference, cops assigned to the area were one level above when they smelt the smoke and hurried to the scene. One officer remained close to the fire, presumably with a suspect nearby, while other officers retrieved fire extinguishers. According to officers, the fire was extinguished.
Gullota responded, “I commend that one officer who stayed there,” when questioned about it. “I believe he performed his duties flawlessly since he made sure to maintain the crime scene in the proper manner and to monitor what was happening. After obtaining fire extinguishers and MTA employees, his fellow cops were able to put out the person.
Police stated that the case is being investigated as a homicide after emergency medical personnel pronounced the woman deceased at the scene.
According to the description, the suspect was between 25 and 30 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall, and 150 pounds. He was dressed in trousers, a knit cap with a red band, brown boots, and a gray hooded sweatshirt, according to body camera footage.
According to the police, the person of interest was dressed in the same clothes, including jeans or pants with paint splashed on them, and carried a lighter in his pocket.
South Brooklyn City Council member Justin Brannan wrote on X that he was waiting for an update on the horrifying immolation at the subway stop.
And please remember the victim,” he wrote.
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