Man set on fire at New York's Times Square, assailant fled the scene

A 45-year-old man set himself on fire in the middle of Times Square in New York on Sunday. The incident took place just three months after a woman was killed in a subway car in an arson attack. Footage captured of the incident shows the shirtless man, severely burned, being rushed to the hospital by authorities to a nearby hospital.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) said that the 45-year-old was found on fire at around 4 am (local time) and was taken to a nearby hospital. The authorities noted that the man is currently in stable condition, and the assailant allegedly fled the scene.

It is unclear whether the attack was random or targeted. According to The New York Post, the man had been doused with accelerant from a Patron tequila bottle and was lit on fire. The victim then ran 100 feet west while on fire before someone jumped out of a car and doused him with a powder fire extinguisher.

Street violence remains a major issue in New York

Street violence continues to remain one of the most dominant issues ahead of New York’s mayoral elections this year. One contender, the former state governor Andrew Cuomo, called the city “out of control” and vowed to add 5,000 additional officers. Meanwhile, the incumbent Mayor Eric Adams said that the issue is not the shortage of police in the city, but bail reforms signed into law by the former governor.

Statistics, on the other hand, showed that the crime rates in the city have declined significantly. “Stop saying our city is in ‘chaos and crisis’! It is not,” Adams said last week. The victim of the arson attack which took place three months ago was identified as 57-year-old Debrina Kawam. The man accused of lighting her on fire was the Guatemalan migrant worker Sebastian Zapeta, who was taken into custody hours after the incident and charged with murder and arson.

Police noted that the suspect in the incident did not leave the scene as Kawam burned to death and was found with a lighter in his pocket. “Lighting another human being on fire and watching them burn alive reflects a level of evil that cannot be tolerated,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.

With inputs from agencies.