A woman dies after being burned on a subway train

A suspect has been arrested in New York for the death of a woman who was burned on the subway in Brooklyn.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident on Sunday as “one of the most devastating crimes one person can do to another”.

He said the woman was on the F train headed to Brooklyn when she was approached by a man who used a torch to set her clothes on fire.

The victim died at the scene, he said, adding that the suspect was arrested after being detained in another subway.

Police said the woman, whose name has not been released, was riding a trolley at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn at around 07:30 local time (12:30 GMT) when a man approached her.

There was no cooperation before the attack, police said, adding that they do not believe the men knew each other.

The man got off the train when the police officers at the station rushed to the fire.

“The police were patrolling the upper part of the station, they smelled smoke and went to investigate,” said Ms. Tisch.

“What they saw was a person standing inside a burning train car.”

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

“The police responded without knowing it, the suspect remained at the scene sitting on a bench on the platform just outside the train car,” Ms. Tisch added.

He explained that responding officers were able to see the man in “very clear, detailed detail” and the images were distributed by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Later, three high school students in New York called 911 to report seeing the suspect on another train, Ms. Tisch told reporters.

The man was then found and arrested after the police boarded the train and went on subway cars.

NYPD spokesman Joseph Gulotta said detectives are still trying to determine if the victim was asleep when he was set on fire.

“He’s definitely there, he’s not moving,” added Mr. Gulotta.

“So to say whether he is sleeping or not, we are not 100% sure, but it seems that he is not moving in that area.

“There is no cooperation between the two. And when the incident happens, there is no communication between them.”