A New York Metropolis subway rider was taken to the hospital on Saturday afternoon for burn accidents after a stranger tossed a cup of burning liquid on the man.
The sudden assault occurred on the Houston Avenue subway station on the 1 line in decrease Manhattan, the New York Police Division stated.
The sufferer, recognized as 23-year-old Petrit Alijaj by The New York Submit, was about to board the prepare together with his fiancée when the suspect took a cup stuffed with liquid, lit it on fireplace and threw it at him.
Mr Alijaj stated he shielded his fiancée and cousins from the fireplace, inflicting his shirt to go up in flames. He advised The Submit he tried to place the flames out together with his arms. As he threw his shirt off, the suspect fled from the scene.
Mr Alijaj was taken to New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital to be handled for burns. He stated docs advised him the burns affected a few third of his physique.
The suspect, recognized as 49-year-old Nile Taylor, was arrested and charged with first, second and third-degree assault, first-degree arson, reckless endangerment and extra, the NYPD stated.
Law enforcement officials tracked Taylor on the intersection of Canal Avenue and Renwick Avenue utilizing a cellphone he allegedly stole from one other subway rider.
Taylor was additionally charged with petit larceny, felony possession of a weapon and felony possession of stolen property within the fifth diploma.
Police are additionally investigating an identical encounter in February when a person threw a container with a flaming liquid at a bunch of individuals on a subway platform within the West twenty eighth Avenue station.
Whereas violent crime is uncommon within the metropolis’s subway system, which serves about 3 million riders a day, some high-profile assaults this yr have left some riders on edge. They embrace the dying of a person who was shoved onto the tracks in East Harlem in March and some shootings.
Gov. Kathy Hochul in March introduced that tons of of Nationwide Guard members could be going into the subway system to spice up safety. Metropolis police stated 800 extra officers could be deployed to the subway to crack down on fare evasion.