Man found on fire in NYC days after first subway arson attack
A 67-year-old man, whose identity has not yet been publicized, was found on fire inside the bustling New York City railroad station.
According to a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) police were notified on Friday evening that a man was on fire. Although the local authorities did not share where he was in Penn Station, CBS News reported that the victim was found in a "passageway."
He was then transported to the nearby NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and is now in a "stable condition."
The man suffered "burn injuries to both of his legs and upper body," which, according to a spokesperson for the New York Fire Department, were "serious but not life-threatening."
According to the New York Post, the victim told police he was set on fire while sleeping.
Authorities have not determined the cause of the fire or whether it was a criminal act, as there is no evidence to support someone's involvement. The investigation is ongoing, particularly in the New Jersey Transit tunnel near tracks 1-12.
This is not the first time that a person was set ablaze on the subway.
On Friday, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil was indicted on charges of murder in the first and second degree and arson after he was accused of setting fire to an unidentified "homeless" woman who was asleep on an F train approaching the Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn early Sunday morning.
The victim's body "was badly burned" and eventually pronounced dead at the scene after the fire was extinguished due to smoke inhalation and thermal injuries
Police testimony in a complaint filed in Brooklyn Criminal Court said that the suspect allegedly "ignited her clothes and fanned the flames" with a shirt as the fire engulfed her."
Zapeta faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, and will be arraigned on Jan. 7.
The New York Penn Station is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the "busiest transit hub" in the Western Hemisphere. It served more than 600,000 passengers per day.
