A homeless man is recovering from burns to his legs and upper body after being set on fire while sleeping at New York City’s Penn Station, according to police and law enforcement sources.
The incident occurred around 7:50 p.m. on Friday in a commuter passageway near New Jersey Transit tracks 1-12. First responders arrived to find the 67-year-old victim with severe burns. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
The man told authorities he believes someone intentionally set him on fire while he was asleep. Police are investigating but have yet to confirm whether foul play was involved. The area where the attack occurred has no surveillance cameras, making the investigation more challenging.
A commuter described the passageway as poorly lit and often used by homeless individuals for shelter. The attack follows another recent incident in Brooklyn, where a woman sleeping on the subway was fatally set on fire.
Earlier this week, a Guatemalan migrant suspected of lighting a sleeping woman on fire aboard a New York City subway train has been arrested, according to the New York Post.
The horrifying incident occurred on an F train in Coney Island at the Stillwell Avenue station. NYPD sources reported that the suspect approached the woman, tossed a lit match on her, and fled. Responding officers found the woman fully engulfed in flames, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect was reportedly identified and detained after a civilian recognized him on another train. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the act “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) criticized the city’s handling of subway safety in response to the crime, accusing local leadership of downplaying the risks to the public. “In New York, dangerous people are allowed to freely roam the subway,” Torres said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
This tragedy has reignited concerns about crime on public transit and the presence of illegal migrants with criminal records in the city. Recent data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that over 58,000 illegal migrants in New York City have either been convicted of crimes or are currently facing charges.
Police have not yet filed formal charges against the suspect, and the investigation is ongoing.
