Woman set on fire on NY Subway and police walk past

[EvangelicalAboutButteredToast]

This story has been in the news for a few days and I keep reading it and just honestly despair. Man unknown to woman is asleep on a train. He ignites her clothing with a lighter and calmly leaves the train to watch her burn. Even fans the flames as a policeman walks past and the policeman tells him to step back. It’s just horrific. No one tries to put the flames out they just film the fire from a distance and the woman dies 😭

I saw this and it is the weirdest (and worst) video I’ve ever seen. There is no panic or urgency from anyone (including the poor woman herself).

They videod it?!?

The poor woman.

That's not something I'd ever want to see.

The video I saw on X yesterday where the woman is literally moving whilst on fire is the worst thing I think I have ever seen.

It looks like she is on Spice or something and paralysed so unable to do anything to help herself and the movement of her arm is absolutely chilling.

The explanation I saw for the woman not moving was deep shock, and/or tendons or muscles or something contracting (?).

There was no explanation given for people walking by casually. I hate when people film accidents etc, but I hope they can use this footage to prosecute people.

And, more than one person filmed it. So why? To have their own personal copy?

Wow I haven't seen this

Why would no one help?!

Everything about that is horrific. 😔

I thought this was crazy not one person tried to help her not even the police! If people just thrown a few jackets on her it would of quenched the fire!! Everyone was just walking past. What is wrong with people

I haven't seen this video and I'm not going to look, but why do people feel this urge to film tragedies? Imagine going to the trouble of taking your phone out of your pocket and not phoning the emergency services, but actively choosing to take footage of someone's dire situation. The world has gone to shit. It really has.

I think as a society we are becoming hugely desensitised to tragedy and public spectacles. I’m thinking of people that are making video content by trying to confuse the public or get reactions. Could some of these people have assumed it wasn’t real?

It's truly one of the worst things I've ever seen. People stood around watching and filming the poor woman burn to death. No one attempting to help her. The police officer just allowing the suspect to literally fan the flames around her with a shirt.

Also who was this woman? Is the lack of reaction because she was an addict for example? I want to know who this woman was.

The last I read they hadn’t been able to identify her.

They’re still working on identifying her

Edit oops cross post with Halloween!

I haven't watched the video and will not but I couldn't believe this when I heard it. Truly horrific. I want to know who this woman is, she deserves at least that.

Could you direct me to a source where it claims the police walked past.

You can literally see it in the video

I have no intention of watching.

Has the murderer been caught?

🥺😔😡

I have read that the woman wasn’t panicking herself. Did the police not realise what was happening? Think they were on the platform and she was in the carriage? If there’s no screaming, etc maybe they didn’t notice?

According to a bbc report officers extinguished the flames.
A man has been charged with first and second degree murder.

Its basic biology to be honest, won't go into graphic detail on here, but biologically it's what you'd expect the human body to do at that point.

I agree that whole thing is absolutely awful and beyond comprehension; it wouldn't have saved her if the police man had stepped in mind.

If you watch the footage you can see a police man staring directly at her, just calmly watching. Then the murder uses a shirt and literally fans the flames around the woman. The police man just calmly tells him to step back after a min. No urgency.

Look up Daniel Penny.. People in New York are scared to help others, because they might get dragged through the courts for it. Individualistic society. Everyone just trying to safely get through their day. We can't judge them for that, it's a dangerous city,.mental health support has been stripped away etc.

The woman was doomed before she even stood up, the fire was too severe for her to be saved by that point. Unless you've seen something happening like this, you can never know whether you'd fight/flight/freeze. Uncontrolled fire produces a very primal response. At least the people videoing have produced evidence of this truly chilling crime, but also, I don't know how they could have stood around filming it. It's all so odd and stilted and horrific in the truest sense of the word. The police standing by, not running for extinguishers or anything, should be held accountable for that behaviour. Their job is to protect and serve.

It's playing on my mind a lot, it's just awful. The man who did it should never be free in society again.

I haven't formed an opinion on Daniel Penny, buy in that case he was using a chokehold. These people could have phoned the police, they weren't required to physically intervene. Filming may have provided evidence, bit couldn't they have got help try& save her? More & more it's clear that US is in a horrible state. Things are difficult in different ways here, but we are much better in comparison. I am unhappy about Trump but things seem so bad it's no wonder someone w a supposedly fresh agenda is welcomed.

Could some of these people have assumed it wasn’t real?

I think this is likely.

It's truly bizarre. I mean she's on fire but standing up, no panic or anything. I thought it was a statue or something at first, until she moved.

Add that to the police casually watching and strolling past and I think many of us would have watched in bemusement, not gone racing in, past the police to try and intervene.

Do police have explicit instructions never to touch a burning person or something, that they must wait for the fire service? I just can't understand how they didn't do anything.