Police Search for Individual Responsible for Setting Man on Fire Near Times Square

NEW YORK—Authorities in New York City are on the lookout for an individual accused of setting a man on fire in the vicinity of Times Square just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, close to West 41st Street and 7th Avenue.

Police officers arrived on the scene and found the 45-year-old victim engulfed in flames, which they promptly extinguished. He was subsequently transported to a local hospital, where he is reported to be in stable condition, according to officials.

Investigators believe that the victim, whose identity is being withheld, is familiar with the person responsible for the attack. Additional details were not disclosed, as the inquiry is still ongoing.

Footage from the scene depicts the victim, shirtless and accompanied by firefighters, walking along the sidewalk after the fire was put out. Video captured him receiving treatment in an ambulance, showcasing burns affecting his face, neck, chest, and arms.

In a related incident from December, Debrina Kawam, a 57-year-old resident of New Jersey, lost her life after being set ablaze on a New York subway train. Sebastian Zapeta, aged 33, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and arson in connection with her death on December 22.

Prosecutors allege that Zapeta ignited the fire while Kawam slept aboard a train halted at a Brooklyn station in Coney Island, and then fanned the flames with a shirt, observing her as she burned from a nearby subway station bench.

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