Manhunt underway for serial arsonist who set fire on subway, torched cop car, in NYC

According to the New York Post, a masked suspect was first seen on video lighting a cop car on fire at approximately 2:20 am right in front of 254 Broadway on January 10. Only minutes afterward, the suspect was seen again on more surveillance footage lighting a car on fire near 14 Murray St.

The third time the suspect was seen in the act, he lit a paper cup on fire before throwing it into a garbage can near the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station. The fourth instance is when the suspect lit a pile of garbage on fire next to the dozing passenger at around 3:40 am on a northbound J train inside the Woodhaven Avenue Station, police said.

Video of the incident was caught on camera and the masked suspect can be seen lurking over the sleeping passenger before lighting the garbage on fire.

The suspect was then seen walking off the train. A police search for the suspect was underway as of Thursday and are offering a reward of $3,500 for information on the incident. The fire lit on the subway next to the passenger comes weeks after illegal immigrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, allegedly burned 57-year-old Debrina Kawam of New Jersey to death. Zapeta was previously deported under the first Trump administration and police could not identify Kawam for days due to the severity of the burns.

Those with more information regarding the serial arson suspect are urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.