By A horrifying tragedy occurred on a Brooklyn subway this past Sunday when a woman was fatally set on fire while seated on an F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station. Authorities have arrested 33-year-old Sebastin Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, in connection with the gruesome crime.
The Big Apple has been struggling with rising crime and illegal immigration throughout Biden’s tenure.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Zapeta was initially detained by Border Patrol and deported by the Trump administration.
Fox News writes:
Zapeta was arrested by Border Patrol on June 1, 2018, after he crossed illegally into Sonoita, Arizona, and was deported by the Trump administration just days later on June 7, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Marie Ferguson told Fox News.
Ferguson added that Zapeta then re-entered the U.S. illegally “on an unknown date and location.”
She added that after Zapeta is charged and details of where he is being held are released, Enforcement and Removal Operations “will lodge an immigration detainer with the NYPD location where he is being held.”
The Kings County District Attorney’s office said in a statement Monday that they “don’t have a timeline for that.”
Surveillance footage from the station captured the sickening attack. The suspect allegedly approached the victim, who appeared to be sleeping, and set her clothing on fire. Witnesses reported that her clothing was quickly engulfed in flames. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the act “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being,” reported The New York Times.
Shockingly, after starting the fire, the suspect allegedly sat nearby on a bench and watched as transit staff and police desperately tried to extinguish the flames. Despite their efforts, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities apprehended Zapeta just hours later while he was riding another F train on the same subway line. Reports indicate that a lighter was found in his pocket at the time of his arrest.
The newspaper explained that “in cold weather, homeless people often seek refuge in the warmth of subway lines that have long routes, including the F which takes about an hour and 40 minutes to get from Jamaica, Queens, to Coney Island. The temperature plunged to 16 degrees Saturday night.”
The Kings County District Attorney’s office issued a statement decrying the act as “gruesome and senseless,” promising to pursue the harshest legal consequences available. “Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe on our subways, and we will do everything in our power to ensure accountability in this case.”
The attack appeared to be unprovoked and targeted a stranger, contributing to an ongoing series of incidents that have fueled widespread concerns about subway safety.
President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for claiming on X that she had improved subway safety, just hours after an undocumented migrant allegedly set a sleeping passenger on fire aboard an F train.
“Governor Hochul, shame on you. There’s nothing you can say that’s going to make this right in New York,” Homan said Monday on Fox & Friends, accusing Hochul of backing sanctuary laws and welcoming “thousands of illegal aliens to her state.”
Hochul’s office highlighted a reported decrease in overall subway crime shortly after the deadly incident.
In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day.
Since deploying the @NationalGuardNY to support @NYPDnews and @MTA safety efforts and adding cameras to all subway cars, crime is going down, and ridership is going up. pic.twitter.com/T7uRxx9nIO
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) December 22, 2024
Many have questioned why no one else stepped in to help the poor woman, but the answer may lie in how Democrats have prosecuted Good Samaritans while turning a blind eye to other criminals.
Daniel Penny, a former U.S. Marine, became the center of national controversy following an incident on a New York City subway in May 2023. Penny placed Jordan Neely, a homeless man reportedly exhibiting erratic and threatening behavior towards a child and mother, in a chokehold to restrain him. According to testimony, Neely eventually died from a combination of the effects of K2, a synthetic drug, schizophrenia, his struggle to get loose, and a blood condition.
The incident sparked intense debate over public safety and systemic failures in addressing mental health and homelessness. Supporters argued Penny acted to protect passengers, while critics, such as leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, labeled his actions as excessive and appeared to call for Penny’s murder.
Penny was subsequently charged with manslaughter by a progressive DA, but found not guilty.
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