Woman dies after being set on fire on subway in New York

A man has been arrested in New York in connection with the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in Brooklyn.

The suspect approached the woman on a train car and intentionally set her on fire before fleeing the scene at around 7.30am on Sunday, the New York Police Department said.

There was no interaction between the victim and the suspect during the attack, and police said they didn’t believe they knew one another.

NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the woman was riding an F train to the end of the line at Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn when she was approached by a man who used a lighter to ignite her clothing.

Her clothing “became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds,” Ms Tisch said.

Officers conducting a routine patrol at the station encountered the victim on fire inside a subway car, NYPD told ITV News’ US partner CNN.

The officers “smelled and saw smoke” that prompted them to investigate, leading them to the subway car where they discovered the victim was on fire, Ms Tisch said.

The woman, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Body camera and surveillance images were key to apprehending the suspect, officials said in a news conference Sunday afternoon.

Police released body camera images to the public and three high school-age New Yorkers recognised the suspect and called the police, Ms Tisch said.

Officers located and arrested the suspect on another train in midtown Manhattan, eight hours after the attack.

The suspect was found with a lighter in his pocket, the commissioner said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday praised the people who helped alert authorities to the suspect.

“This type of depraved behavior has no place in our subways and we are committed to working hard to ensure there is swift justice for all victims of violent crime,” Adams said in a post on X.

Police are still working to identify the victim and the motive for the attack.