Sebastian Zapeta, a 33-year-old Guatemalan migrant was arrested for allegedly setting a sleeping subway passenger on fire, resulting in the victim's death. The incident happened early Sunday morning (around 7:30 am), 22 December on an idling F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn.
The authorities are still looking into Zapeta's immigration status however, as mentioned by the New York Post, Sebastian Zapeta reportedly entered the United States from Guatemala in 2018.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch in a statement to the media called the act:
"One of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being".
Explaining how Sebastian Zapeta may have committed the crime, Jessica Tisch said:
"As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim. The female victim was in a seated position. The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds.”
She then added that it was the officers who were on patrol on the upper level who smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate. Tisch said:
"What they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames."
She also explained that Sebastian Zapeta stayed at the scene of the crime, seated on a bench just outside the very train where he had allegedly set the victim on fire and exited:
"Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car,"
Disclaimer: Graphic content
How was Sebastian Zapeta apprehended by the police?
After allegedly setting fire to the victim (an unidentified woman), Zapeta exited the train but stayed in the vicinity. As police responders tried to ask the crowd that had gathered if anyone saw anything, the suspect, Sebastian Zapeta could be seen calmly sitting on a bench and watching everything when an officer said to him:
“Do me a favor? Walk down there. I need this space cleared up.”
The suspect then stood up and left from there. However, according to police commissioner Jessica Tisch:
“The body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear, detailed look at the killer.”
Later in the day, three high school students recognized the suspect from images released by the NYPD and reported seeing him at the Jay and York Street station on the F line. According to Tisch and NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta, transit officers responded immediately but found the suspect on another train leaving the station.
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Police coordinated efforts by notifying transit personnel ahead to stop the train at Herald Square. Upon arrival, officers systematically searched each subway car. Eventually, they located Zapeta, still wearing the same distinctive clothing described in the alert. During his arrest, officers discovered a lighter in his possession, further linking him to the crime scene.
While investigators continue to probe for a motive behind this appalling attack, Zapeta remains in police custody. Formal charges are expected to be announced soon. According to the police, the suspect and the victim did not seem to know each other.
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