New York City is one of the most unpredictable places in the world, and the subway system embodies that capriciousness more than anywhere. The latest incident in the city resulted in an innocent man being doused in flames on the No. 1 train.
Petrit Alijaj, 23, tells ABC 7 News he was riding the No. 1 train southbound from the West Houston and Varick Street station with his family Saturday afternoon when a man suddenly approached the train car and gave him a “weird look.” Within just a second, Alijaj told reporters, the man threw flaming liquid toward him. Alijaj described the suspect as a “maniac.”
“He had a cup with the fire and the train stopped at Houston Street. We thought when he go for the door, we thought he’s leaving, he’s getting off. He waited for the door to open and then he put me [on] fire,” he said per ABC 7.
In the midst of the attack, he told reporters he managed to block his family members with his body to protect them. In the video footage, Alijaj is seen on the Varick and King Street corner with his shirt off, visibly in distress and suffering from burns across his chest and face.
In another surveillance video, the suspect was seen holding two flaming cans while standing in the turnstile.
New York police identified the alleged flame-thrower as 49-year-old Nile Taylor, who was arrested and charged with assault, arson and reckless endangerment. Taylor already had a record featuring petit larceny, per The New York Post. Taylor’s bond is set at $250,000.
As for Mr. Alijaj, he suffered severed burns all over his body, per the report.
This is only the latest crazy crime that’s been reported from the streets of Manhattan. Just days ago, a young girl was randomly slashed on the side of her head up at a Subway station in Harlem. Weeks ago, a homeless man was arrested after being caught on camera throwing scalding hot water on random New Yorkers. Just after the New Year, a man was fatally shot while trying to break-up a brawl. Despite statistics suggesting overall crime rates have dropped since 2019 and 2020, the consistent headlines of random stabbings and shootings is enough to make folks not want to come outside.