A woman died after being set on fire on the subway in New York by a man believed to be a stranger.
The woman had been sleeping on a stationary subway train when a man had approached her, set her on fire using a lighter and then left the subway car at around 7.30am on Sunday. He then apparently watched from a bench as she became engulfed in flames and died.
Transit police apprehended a suspect after receiving a report from three high school students who had recognised the man on Sunday.
They had seen images of the suspect taken from surveillance and police body cam video and widely distributed by police.
The man was arrested hours later while riding on the same subway line as the killing.
"New Yorkers came through again," said New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who described the case as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being."
Tisch said the suspect and the woman, whose identities are yet to be released, were riding a subway train without any interaction between them to the end of the line in Brooklyn. Police do not believe the two people knew each other.
Video footage published on social media by a horrified onlooker showed a man sitting on a bench on the platform a few steps away from the burning woman.
Officers on a routine patrol at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station soon discovered her on fire, in the middle of the train, after they smelled smoke and noticed some commotion on the platform, said Detective Austin Glickman.
The Police were unaware the suspect had remained at the scene and was seated on a bench on the subway platform, just outside the train car, Tisch said.
Body cameras worn by the officers caught a "very clear, detailed look" at the suspect and those images were shared with the public.
After later receiving a 911 call from the teenagers, other transit officers identified the man on another subway train and radioed ahead to the next station, where more officers kept the train doors closed, searched each car and ultimately apprehended him without incident, said Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta.
Read More: Why I'm not surprised a woman was set on fire on New York's Subway
The man had a lighter in his pocket when he was taken into custody, Tisch said. Gulotta said the investigation was continuing, including whether the woman was homeless and the background of the suspect.
Police said in a written statement they were asking for the public's assistance in the case, which is being investigated as a homicide.
A reward of up to $10,000 was being offered for information.
The suspect was described as approximately 25 to 30 years old, last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, a dark-coloured knit hat with a red band and brown boots.
The subway car was sitting idle at the end of the line at the time. Often, the doors are left open so the train cars can be cleaned or during a temporary pause in service.
The case marked the second death on a New York subway on Sunday. At 12:35 am, police responded to an emergency call for an assault in progress at the 61st Street-Woodside Station in Queens and found a 37-year-old man with a stab wound to his torso and a 26-year-old man with multiple slashes throughout his body.
The older man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital while the younger man was in stable condition, police said.
An investigation was continuing.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul this year has sent New York National Guard members to the city's subway system to help police conduct random searches of riders' bags for weapons following a series of high-profile crimes on city trains. Hochul recently deployed additional members to help patrol during the holiday season.
