On Sunday morning, a woman died in the flames when the F subway train she was sleeping in at Coney Island caught fire and a madman threw a lit match at her, police officials said.
Just before 7:30 a.m., NYPD officers responded to a call about a fire at the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue subway station and found an idling F train, police told the Post. A woman was found engulfed in flames while she was sitting there.
She was found with liquor bottles lying around, but it was not immediately clear whether they had any role in the fire, officials said.
Investigators believe that while the woman was sleeping, a man who was sitting across from her got up, walked past her, threw a match, and set the woman on fire, officials said.
The man, believed to be in his 20s, then fled the station.
Police extinguished the fire and emergency services pronounced the woman dead at the scene, police said.
Sunday morning's horrific attack comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul deploys an additional 250 National Guard troops to New York City's subways for the holidays and beyond, expanding the New York Army National Guard's $100 million subway deployment to 1,000 troops. It happened. About 8 million tourists were expected to visit the Big Apple during the holidays.
Hochul argued that the controversial deployment of the National Guard to the subways for the first time in March led to a dramatic drop in traffic crime, noting that subway crime has fallen by 10%.
Despite the governor's efforts, homicides on New York City's subways have increased by at least 60% this year, according to data collected in September.
As of September 8, eight people had died on subway cars and stations, up from just five during the same period a year earlier, according to New York City Police Department data.
The F train attack was just the latest attack in a bloody 24-hour period against New York City's transit system.
— An altercation between five men on a southbound 7 train at Woodside Avenue and 61st Street in Queens turned deadly just after midnight Sunday.
During the scuffle, a 69-year-old man stabbed one man in the chest and another in the face, police said.
Police said the man who was stabbed in the chest died on the way to a hospital. The suspect was in custody awaiting charges.
— Hours later, at 4:30 a.m., a northbound D train was suspended after an irate passenger threw a can at the conductor. Police said the conductor, a 38-year-old man, was taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition.
Police added that no suspects were arrested in the attack.
