MANHATTAN, NY – A 23-year-old man was left with burns on his chest and neck following a frightening incident on the subway in Manhattan on Saturday. An assailant allegedly ignited a cup of liquid and threw it onto the victim, causing his shirt to catch fire.
The random act of violence occurred as the No. 1 train approached the Houston Street station in Lower Manhattan around 2:45 p.m. Just as the train doors opened, the attacker fled from the scene but stopped to retrieve a phone a woman on the platform had dropped.
Thanks to the sharp instincts of police officers, the stolen phone was traced, leading to the suspect’s apprehension a few blocks away at Canal Street and Renwick Street, near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.
Although not seriously harmed, the victim had to seek treatment at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital. Authorities are investigating whether Nile Taylor, 49, the arrested suspect, played a role in another similar incident that happened in February.
There was another case in February where a man threw a blazing container at a group of subway passengers on the No. 1 line. This incident took place around 7:40 p.m. inside the West 28th Street station.