Person of interest in subway burning death nabbed on another train with lighter in pocket

Police have arrested a person of interest after a woman was set on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday in a horrifying and disturbing crime.

As per Fox sources, the suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Sebastin Zapeta. 

Sources told Fox News Digital that Zapeta entered the U.S. from Guatemala approximately a year ago, but whether he did so legally or illegally was unclear. NYPD officials said the man entered from Guatemala in 2018, and said “that’s all we have on him right now.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more information.

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said it happened at the Stillwell Avenue Subway station in Coney Island at about 7:30 a.m.

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New York City police are searching for a man who allegedly set a woman on fire on a Brooklyn subway trail while she was asleep on Dec. 22, 2024. (NYPD)

Police said the woman was sleeping on a stationary “F” train.

That’s when police said an unknown man approached the woman and lit her on fire before leaving the subway car.

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New York City police are searching for a man who allegedly set a woman on fire on a Brooklyn subway while she was asleep on Dec. 22, 2024. (NYPD)

EMS pronounced the woman dead at the scene.

Horrifying video posted online appears to show the woman standing in the train while engulfed in flames. A man, who matches the description of the person of interest, is seen sitting on a bench just outside the train, watching as the woman burns. 

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New York City police are searching for a man who allegedly set a woman on fire on a Brooklyn subway train while she was asleep just three days before Christmas. (NYPD)

Police encourage anyone with information about the incident to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

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Tips can also be submitted by going to crimestoppers.nypdonline.org.