Man arrested after setting woman on fire on New York subway train

A man suspected of setting a sleeping woman on fire on a New York City subway train was taken into custody Sunday, according to local officials.

New York City police officials said the incident occurred around 7.30 am (1230GMT) on an F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn.

Police said the suspect, using a lighter, ignited her clothing. Responding officers discovered the woman standing in the train car "fully engulfed in flames."

The fire was extinguished, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch addressed the press later in the day, condemning the act as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being."

Investigators believe the suspect remained at the scene after the attack, sitting on a bench just outside the train car.

A breakthrough came when three high school students who had seen the man on another train alerted authorities. Tisch confirmed that after they called 911, officers boarded the train, located the suspect and arrested him. He was found with a lighter in his pocket.

The man, whose identity has not been released, remains in custody as the investigation continues.