A female passenger died after being set on fire by a man on a New York City subway train Sunday morning local time, according to police.
Around 7.30am (11.30pm Sunday AEDT), a man, who police believe is about 25 to 30 years old, approached the sleeping victim on a stationary F train car and intentionally set her on fire before fleeing the scene, New York Police Department Detective Austin Glickman told CNN.
Police officers conducting a routine patrol at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn encountered the victim on fire inside a subway car, Glickman said.
Officials extinguished the fire, and EMS responded to the scene and pronounced the female dead, according to the detective.
Police are investigating the incident as a homicide, Glickman said.
The NYPD is seeking the public’s help to find the suspect, a male who is about 1.67m tall and 68kg, according to an NYPD news release.
The suspect was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, a dark-colored knit hat with a red band and brown boots, the release said. Crime Stoppers is offering up to US$10,000 ($15,987) for information about the suspect.
Identifying information about the victim is not yet available, Glickman said.
No other passengers or first responders were injured in the incident, police said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced efforts to bolster subway safety ahead of the holidays, deploying an additional 250 National Guard members to New York City and ensuring every subway car is outfitted with security cameras.
