A 45-year-old man suffered severe burns after being set on fire in Times Square early in the morning. He was found ablaze and ran approximately 100 feet before being rescued. The attacker fled, and it is uncertain if the assault was random or targeted. Authorities revealed the victim was doused with an accelerant from a Patron tequila bottle. This incident echoes a recent subway arson that resulted in a fatality, raising public safety concerns ahead of New York’s mayoral election. The debate centers on whether increased police presence or bail reform laws contribute more to rising street violence.
A man aged 45 sustained severe burns after being set ablaze in Times Square, an event reminiscent of a deadly subway arson three months prior, as reported by police.
Video footage from the scene captures emergency responders hurriedly placing a shirtless man with severe burns into an ambulance after quenching the flames, The Guardian stated.
Authorities indicated that the 45-year-old was found ablaze at approximately 4 am and was taken to a local hospital in stable condition. The assailant reportedly fled and is currently being pursued by police. It remains uncertain whether the attack was random or specifically targeted.
Investigators later disclosed that the victim had been saturated with an accelerant from a Patron tequila bottle prior to being ignited. He managed to run about 100 feet west while still engulfed in flames until a bystander emerged from a vehicle and utilized a powder fire extinguisher to douse the fire, as reported by fire marshals to the New York Post.
A woman from Brooklyn described the atmosphere of Times Square as “pretty scary” during the early morning. “Yeah, it’s pretty scary before 8 or 9 a.m.,” remarked Anne Lee, 26. “There are hardly any police on these blocks at all. The side streets are really bare; they mainly patrol the avenues and just provide directions to tourists.”
Street violence is anticipated to be a major topic in the forthcoming mayoral election in New York. Former state governor Andrew Cuomo, running in the race, declared that the city is “out of control” and has vowed to deploy an additional 5,000 police officers.
However, Mayor Eric Adams contends that the issue lies not in the number of officers, but rather in the bail reform laws enacted by Cuomo during his administration. He has also highlighted statistics indicating a decline in crime rates within the city.
“Stop claiming our city is in ‘chaos and crisis’! It is not,” Adams asserted last week.
This latest arson incident occurred just three months following a tragic event where a woman was fatally set on fire inside a subway car, a crime that deeply unsettled New Yorkers and reignited anxieties surrounding public safety. The victim, who was later identified as 57-year-old Debrina Kawam, lost her life in this horrific incident.
The suspect, Sebastian Zapeta, a migrant worker from Guatemala, was apprehended hours later and charged with murder and arson. Authorities reported that Zapeta did not flee the scene while Kawam was burning and was discovered with a lighter in his possession.
“Setting another human being on fire and witnessing them burn alive demonstrates a degree of evil that is intolerable,” the mayor’s office commented in a statement.