NEW YORK — A man lit a cup of liquid on fire and threw it at a fellow subway rider in New York City, setting the victim’s shirt on fire and injuring him, police said Sunday.
The random attack happened Saturday afternoon on the No. 1 train in Lower Manhattan, city police said, adding that the suspect was in custody on a series of criminal charges. Authorities also charged the man in connection with a similar fire attack on the subway in February.
Saturday’s victim, a 23-year-old man, was recovering in a hospital. He told the New York Post that he was protecting his fiancée and cousin from the burning liquid and his shirt caught fire. He said he punched himself to put out the flames. Doctors told him he had burns on about a third of his body, he said.
“He had a cup,” the victim told the Post. “He made a fire and threw everything.”
Although violent crimes are rare on the city’s subway system, which serves about 3 million passengers a day, some high-profile attacks this year have left some passengers on edge. These include the death of a man who was pushed onto tracks in East Harlem in March and several shootings.
The suspect in Saturday’s attack, Nile Taylor, 49, was arrested shortly after it happened when police tracked a phone he allegedly stole from another subway passenger to his location, authorities said. He was charged with assault, arson, illegal possession of weapons and several other crimes.
It was not immediately clear whether Taylor had an attorney who could respond to the allegations, or when he would be arraigned in court.
Authorities also announced Sunday afternoon that Taylor was charged with attempted assault, reckless endangerment and arson in the February attack. Police say he threw a container of flaming liquid at a group of people on a subway platform at the West 28th Street station. No one was injured.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced in March that hundreds of National Guard members would enter the subway system to increase security. The city police said another 800 officers would be deployed across the metro to tackle fare evasion.