A man was caught on camera starting a blaze next to a sleeping passenger on a Queens subway train after setting small fires throughout lower Manhattan, police said Thursday.
The dozing rider was unharmed but the disturbing video brings back memories of the caught-on-video incident in a Coney Island subway station last month when a 57-year-old sleeping woman was set on fire by a stranger who fanned the flames consuming her.
In the new incident, the firebug sets fire to a small pile of papers and rubbish next to the head of a passenger stretched out on a seat fast asleep on a Jamaica-bound J train entering the Woodhaven Ave. station about 3:40 a.m. Jan. 10.
Once he lights the fire, the firebug stands there watching the flames grow, the video shows. After a few moments, he adds a paper plate to the fire before leaving the subway car.
Two other passengers witnessing the arson move out of the way as the train enters the station, the video shows.
The flames never reached the sleeping passenger, police said.
Cops later determined that less than two hours earlier, at 2:20 a.m., the same man set an NYPD vehicle parked on Broadway outside of City Hall Park on fire
Ten minutes later, he was caught on surveillance cameras setting a car on fire a block away on Murray St. near Church St., cops said. Both vehicles suffered minor damage.
Twenty minutes later, he was seen again at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall train station, where he was recorded tossing a paper cup he set on fire into a garbage can, causing a small blaze.
No injuries were reported in any of the fires, cops said. The suspect was wearing a black bubble jacket, black hood and a ski mask.
Migrant Sebastian Zapeta is facing murder and arson charges for allegedly setting homeless woman Debrina Kawam on fire at the Coney Island-Stillwell Ave. station on Dec. 22. That incident was caught on video that shocked the city.
The Jan. 10 fires are being investigated by the NYPD’s Arson and Explosion Unit. Cops released surveillance footage of the suspect and are asking the public’s help identifying him and tracking him down.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.