Police officials are conducting a manhunt for an arson suspect who recently lit a fire next to a sleeping subway passenger and started three other fires in New York City.
In a Wednesday post on X, formerly Twitter, the New York Police Department explained that an “unidentified individual” started a fire at roughly 2:20 a.m. on January 10 near 254 Broadway, which damaged a “marked NYPD emergency vehicle.” Shortly after the first arson incident, the suspect started a second fire near 14 Murray Street at roughly 2:35 a.m. According to police officials, the second fire resulted in damage to an unoccupied vehicle.
The New York Police Department noted that the suspect started a third fire at roughly 2:55 a.m. by setting a paper cup on fire and throwing the cup in a garbage can near the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall subway station. Finally, the suspect “set fire to a pile of garbage alongside a sleeping passenger” at roughly 3:40 a.m. on the northbound “J” train at the Woodhaven Boulevard train station.
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“The individual fled the location on foot,” the New York Police Department added. “No injuries were reported as a result of this incident.”
Pictures shared by the New York Police Department show the suspect in a black outfit with a black mask. A video of the incident shows the suspect igniting the fire next to the sleeping passenger on the New York City subway.
The New York Post reported that police officials were still searching for the arson suspect as of Thursday. The outlet noted that Crime Stoppers has offered a $3,500 reward for information regarding the arson incidents.
According to The New York Post, police have indicated that the string of arson incidents is under investigation by the New York Police Department’s Arson and Explosion Unit.
The manhunt for the alleged New York City arsonist comes after an illegal immigrant was arrested last month after allegedly setting a woman on fire and burning her alive on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York. The New York Police Department arrested 33-year-old Sebastin Zapeta, who was reportedly deported under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration but was released into the United States after illegally re-entering the country under President Joe Biden’s administration.
