Police are searching for a man who set fire to newspapers inside a Manhattan subway station on Monday, before hurling the flaming periodicals at terrified straphangers.
The chaotic scene erupted at the 33rd Street station along Park Avenue, when the cigar-smoking suspect set the newspapers aflame at around 5:30 p.m.
Video emerged on social media showing the man tossing the papers toward a group of people standing on the uptown 6 train platform.
Hey @PIX11News @PIX11 @DanMannarino terrifying scene at 33rd Street uptown 6 station Monday @ 5:30pm. Man lighting newspaper on fire and throwing it at school kids and onto the tracks. Please help FDNY locate the suspect pic.twitter.com/dWCTFDoQPH
— stephen carlstrom (@StevieCarlstrom) August 28, 2023
The man had left the scene before police arrived, but they found burnt remnants of his blazing outburst on the train platform, according to the NYPD.
Authorities did not release a motive for the man’s frightening actions.
No one was injured in the incident, and no arrests have yet been made — though the investigation remains ongoing.
The incident marks the latest scary episode inside the subway, where concern among New Yorkers is rising about crime.
According to a recent study, conducted by the Siena College Research Institute, 70% New York City residents are very (30%) or somewhat (40%) concerned that they will be targeted in a serious crime when in public within the five boroughs.
Still, authorities have made progress in tackling lawlessness, as major crimes in the subway system decreased 9.9% in July 2023, compared with the same month last year, according to the NYPD. There were 191 major crimes in the subway during July of 2022, compared with 172 last month.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.
