A newly-surfaced video shows NYPD officers swarming a Manhattan subway train to apprehend Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta, who has been accused of setting a sleeping subway rider ablaze. A video shared on Instagram shows officers waiting on the platform at the 34th Street–Herald Square station before pouncing on the suspect inside the jam-packed Subway car.
The clip shows two officers pushing past commuters to charge at the suspect. Zapeta, 33, sat with his head down, appearing to be sleeping. A previous video showed him calmly watching the woman he set on fire burn to death.
One of the cops wrapped his arm around Zapeta and forced him to the ground as more cops rushed on to help. Around five officers held the suspect down and placed him in handcuffs. Some straphangers looked on, confused, and others backed away as cops demanded they “step out” of the train.
Suspect charged with murder and arson
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and the NYPD’s Chief of Transit, Joseph Gulotta, said three high schoolers had called police and informed them that they saw the man at the Jay and York Street station on the F line, according to New York Post. The train was halted at Herald Square, and cops went from car to car to find Zapeta and arrest him.
“Our officers in District Two stopped that train in Herald Square, and (were) able to keep the doors closed, walk the train and place this very dangerous individual in custody,” Gulotta said.
A lighter was found in the suspect’s pocket when he was picked up, Tisch said. He has now been charged with murder and arson. Tisch said this murder was “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being.”
Brooklyn district attorney Eric Gonzalez reportedly said in a statement, “The depravity of this horrific crime is beyond comprehension, and my office is committed to bringing the perpetrator to justice. This gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will be met with the most serious consequences.”
