NYPD officers arrested Sebastian Zapeta, a 33-year-old Guatemala national, on Monday for allegedly setting an unidentified woman on fire inside of a New York City subway train.
The disturbing incident occurred early on Sunday morning on the F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station, according to CBS News.
The crime has reignited the debate over illegal immigration and the ongoing border crisis as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
A man faces first-degree murder charges for allegedly setting a woman on fire as she slept on the New York City subway.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, was charged Monday with first and second degree murder and arson after the shocking crime on an F train in Coney Island, Brooklyn over the weekend, police said.
Officials said Zapeta, who reentered the U.S. sometime after being sent back to Guatemala in 2018, did now know the woman and they were still working to figure out a motive for the attack.
The unidentified woman was burned to death while sleeping on an F train at around 7:30 a.m. Sunday at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station, police said.
Officers at the station smelled smoke and saw her standing inside the subway car, engulfed in flames. With the help of a transit worker, they grabbed a fire extinguisher, but said the woman died at the scene.
"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, and the body worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear, detailed look at the killer," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Sunday evening. "Three high school age New Yorkers called 911 to say that they recognize the suspect. They saw something and they said something, and they did something.
News: 🚨
— Tom Homan - Border Czar Commentary and Updates (@TomHoman_) December 23, 2024
Governor Kathy Hochul tries to spin New York City subways as being safer, for some reason, after the brutal k*ll*ng of Amelia Carter by a Guatemala man who shouldn’t have been in America in the first place, named Sebastian Zapeta.
This alone should be reason enough… https://t.co/aJnFLQv0kz pic.twitter.com/ueSBaD76x1
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez vowed that “This gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will be met with the most serious consequences,” The Associated Press reported.
New York City officials indicated that Zapeta had reentered the United States after having been deported to Guatemala in 2018. He did not know the woman and the authorities are still working to uncover a motive for the alleged murder.
ANIMAL: Previously deported illegal alien Sebastian Zapeta-Calil walks out of NYPD precinct after being accused of burning woman alive on subway pic.twitter.com/7kJn4RbJmd
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 23, 2024
NYPD Commissioner Jessia Tisch told reporters that officers apprehended the suspect after “Three high school age New Yorkers called 911 to say that they recognize the suspect.”
She added: “They saw something and they said something, and they did something.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials confirmed that Zapeta had been previously deported but are not sure when he reentered the country.
The incident came after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed members of the National Guard to help with security on the subway while also employing enhanced surveillance efforts. "About a year ago, Hochul supported funding to install video cameras on every train car in the New York subway system, said Michael Kemper, chief security officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,” The Associated Press reported.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member