Sleeping woman set on fire on New York subway

A New York City woman has died after being set on fire while sleeping in a subway car.

A woman and a man were riding a subway train without any interaction between them to the end of the line in Brooklyn on Sunday morning at about 7.30am.

Surveillance video from the subway car shows the man walking calmly up to the victim, who sits motionless, possibly sleeping, and setting her clothing on fire, said NYC Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

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The woman’s clothing then “became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds,” Tisch said.

Emergency medical personnel declared the woman dead at the scene.

Police do not believe the two knew one another.

NYC police have arrested a “person of interest” after receiving a 911 call from three high school students who had recognised the man.

The man had a lighter in his pocket when he was taken into custody, Tisch said.

They had seen images of the suspect taken from surveillance and police bodycam video and widely distributed by police.

Tisch described the case as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being”.

– With Associated Press