High school senior, 18, charged with arson after New York subway passenger is set on fire
By Karina Tsui, Martin Goillandeau, CNN
(CNN) — A high school senior was charged with federal arson after allegedly setting fire to a sleeping subway passenger in New York early Monday morning.
Hiram Carrero, 18, is accused of arson resulting in injury after authorities said he lit a piece of paper and dropped it near a 56-year-old man aboard a northbound 3 train passing 34th Street–Penn Station, the Department of Justice said Friday.
The victim then stumbled onto the platform at 42nd Street–Times Square, where his legs and torso can be seen ignited, according to surveillance images attached in the release.
Police extinguished the flames, and the victim was hospitalized in critical condition.
Carrero briefly boarded the train before fleeing and taking a bus to Harlem, according to a criminal complaint. He was arrested Thursday in Harlem, where his attorneys said he lives with his disabled mother and acts as her primary caregiver, according to the Associated Press.
This case is the latest of a string of attacks in public transport in US cities in recent years, with victims intentionally set ablaze, notably in New York and Chicago, including train workers.
US District Judge Valerie E. Caproni ordered Carrero detained, citing the “heinousness of the crime,” after prosecutors appealed another magistrate’s decision to release him to home confinement under his mother’s supervision, the AP reported.
Carrero was not required to enter a plea during his arraignment in Manhattan federal court. His mother attended the arraignment but declined to speak to reporters, the AP added.
Carrero’s lawyer, Jennifer Brown, acknowledged “the allegations are extremely serious,” but argued he is a “very young man with no (criminal record) and a mother willing to take him in.”
“The New York City subway is the heart of our City, with millions of people who live and work here relying on it every day,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “New Yorkers have the right to be safe and feel safe when they ride the subway, and our Office is committed to that result.”
“This attack is among the most serious acts of violence a person can commit, and it has no place in our city—above or below ground,” New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch added.
If convicted, Carrero faces a minimum of seven years in prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 4. The case is being prosecuted federally because it was investigated by a federal task force and does not involve state charges.
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