A sleeping woman was set on fire on a New York subway by another passenger, who then sat calmly and watched as she burned.

The victim was sitting on a stationary train at the Coney Island-Stillwell subway station in Brooklyn on Sunday morning when the suspect slowly approached her and set fire to her clothing, police said.

The man, a 33-year-old from Guatemala who has not yet been named, was then filmed getting off the train and watching from a platform bench as the woman burst into flames.

Nearby police officers, who did not notice the suspect on the bench at the time, were seen rushing past him as they attempted to put out the fire.

The woman, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect was arrested later on Sunday.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) said there had been no previous interaction between the man and woman and they did not believe they knew each other.

As the train pulled into the station at 7:30 a.m. local time, the attacker used what looked like a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, “which was completely consumed within seconds,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at one Press conference.

“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect remained at the scene and sat on a bench on the platform directly in front of the train car,” Ms. Tisch added on Sunday evening.

In one video, a police officer appeared to be talking to the suspect, pointing his radio toward the platform and saying, “Do me a favor?” Go down there. I have to clear this room.”

The man – dressed in a gray hoodie – stood up and then left the scene. He was later caught on another train when students alerted police after recognizing him from images splashed across the news.

Photo credit: Coronavirusny/Instagram

The subway surveillance cameras and police body cameras “provided a very clear and detailed look at the killer,” said Ms. Tisch, who called the murder “one of the most depraved crimes that one person could ever commit against another.”

The suspect emigrated to the United States from Guatemala in 2018, said Joseph Gulotta, the NYPD’s transit chief.

Sources told the New York Post that he was arrested by Border Patrol agents in Arizona in June of that year. His legal status is still unclear.

The suspect lived in a homeless shelter, sources also told the outlet.

A video posted by the suspect shows him apparently drunkenly swearing on the subway. “I drink my beer how I like it and I live what I am,” he says in Spanish, pointing to an empty platform.

It’s unclear if it was filmed on the same day of the attack, but he is wearing the same gray hoodie in the video.

“As long as I don’t disturb anyone,” he says indistinctly. “Why do these damn people have problems with me? That’s the problem,” he says into the camera.

Also on Sunday, one person was killed and another injured in a stabbing on the subway near Queens.

According to police, as of November, nine subway homicides have been reported in 2024, compared to five during the same period in 2023.

Earlier this month, Daniel Penny was acquitted of murder after he put an unarmed homeless man, Jordan Neely, in a chokehold on the city’s subway last year.

Mr Neely, 30, a former Michael Jackson impersonator with a history of mental illness, had shouted at passengers with Mr Penny, 26, grabbed him from behind and held him in a chokehold for more than five minutes.

The case sparked weeks of protests and heated debate about race, public safety on transportation and the city’s handling of mental health and homelessness issues.

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