A migrant from Guatemala was arrested in connection to the heinous death of a woman who was lit on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday, according to video and reports.
The suspect, 33-year-old Sebastin Zapeta, has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, as well as first-degree arson.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, during a press conference on Sunday evening, provided more insight into the crime.
“As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim,” she said, explaining that 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.”
Officers were on patrol at the station when they smelled and saw smoke, prompting them to investigate the situation.
When they arrived, Tisch noted, the officers saw a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames. The flames were ultimately put out with the help of an MTA employee and a fire extinguisher. The victim was pronounced dead, the commissioner said.
Tisch also said Zapeta stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car.
Sources said Zapeta was once deported — but sneaked back into the US and the Big Apple shelter system.
He first entered the US illegally at the Arizona border in 2018, but was nabbed just days later and shipped back home.
He later crossed the border again, dodging federal agents and finding his way north to the five boroughs — although it is unclear how long he was in the city before the horrific F train attack Sunday.