NEW YORK – And man set fire to a cup of liquid and threw it at another passenger in it metro in New York City, setting the victim’s shirt on fire and injuring him.
The random attack occurred on a No. 1 train in lower Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, city police said, adding that the suspect is in custody.
The victim, a 23-year-old man, is recovering in a hospital. He told the New York Post that he protected his fiancee and cousin from the liquid in llamas and his shirt caught fire. She said she put out the fire by hitting her clothes with her hands. Doctors told him he had burns on about a third of his body, he said.
“He had a cup,” the victim told the Post. She “took it and threw it all away.”
The suspect, a 49-year-old man, was arrested shortly after police tracked down a phone he allegedly stole from another subway rider, authorities said. Police have not announced charges against the man.
Police are also investigating a similar incident in February when a man threw a container of burning liquid at a group of people on a subway platform at the West 28th Street station.
While violent crime is unusual in the city’s subway system, which serves about 3 million passengers a day, some notable incidents this year have left some passengers in suspense, including the death of a man who was pushed into the tracks in East Harlem in March and some shootings.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in March that hundreds of National Guard members would enter the subway system to bolster security. And city police said 800 more officers would be deployed to the subway to deter trespassers.
However, violence continues to plague New York.
Source: With information from AP
