Woman set on fire while on New York subway

Police have launched a murder investigation after a woman was set on fire while on a subway train in New York.

Detectives say the woman was discovered at around 7.30am local time on Sunday after officers on a routine patrol smelled smoke and noticed some commotion on the platform.

They found the woman on fire in the subway car, which was sitting idle at Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn at the time.

Paramedics declared the woman – who has not yet been formally identified – dead at the scene.

New York City Police Commissioner, Jessica Tisch, said a man suspected to have set the woman on fire stayed at the scene and was spotted on a police body-worn camera while sitting on a bench at the station.

Ms Tisch said police shared the image with the public, and officers later received a tip-off from three teenagers who spotted the man on another train.

In a press conference on Sunday, she said that the suspect had been arrested.

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The incident was one of two deaths on a New York subway on Sunday.

Police also responded to reports of an assault at 61st Street-Woodside Station in Queens and found a 37-year-old man with a stab wound to his torso and a 26-year-old man with multiple slashes to his body.

The older man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital while the younger man was in stable condition, police said. An investigation continues.

New York governor Kathy Hochul this year has sent the New York National Guard to the city’s subway system to help police conduct random searches of riders’ bags for weapons following a series of high-profile crimes on city trains.

Ms Hochul recently deployed additional members to help patrol during the Christmas period.