A man is accused of throwing flaming liquid onto another man on the subway in New York City, as residents endure rising assaults on trains.
The 23-year-old Albanian man who was burned, Petrit Alijaj, told the New York Post he leapt in front of his fiancée to shield her from the liquid, the outlet reported Saturday.
“I protect my fiancée with my body,” he explained.
Alijaj spoke to the outlet while lying in his hospital bed after 30 percent of his body was burned during the incident. Images show the victim with his entire body covered in bandages, and the suspect in the case being hauled away by police:
Take all the homeless off the streets now and check to see if they are mental. This has to stop.
NYC straphanger set on fire blocked fiancée from maniac’s flaming liquid in subway attack, has burns on 30 percent of his body
(NY Post – May 26) The man who was severely burned… pic.twitter.com/x3oAQgRqLM— floridanow1 (@floridanow1) May 26, 2024
Alijaj explained that he was with his fiancée and cousin as they rode the No. 1 train during an excursion to the Statue of Liberty. However, as the train pulled into the Varick Street station, a 49-year-old man entered the train while holding a cup.
The cup, which the suspect identified as Nile Taylor was holding, contained liquid. Alijaj said the suspect made a fire and tossed it at the trio.
Alijaj moved quickly to cover those with him, but his shirt ignited and he desperately tried to put out the flames as he left the train. He eventually managed to rip off his shirt. In the meantime, the suspect also left the train.
However, “Taylor was arrested shortly after the attack after police tracked a cell phone that he had picked up off the platform while fleeing, police and sources said,” the Post article stated, adding it was the second time in the past four months flaming liquid has been thrown at subway riders.
Felony assaults in the city’s subways rose 53 percent last year compared to such assaults in 2019, according to a report from March.
Meanwhile, police arrested a man in March who allegedly shoved his girlfriend onto the tracks of a New York City subway, which resulted in the loss of both the victim’s feet, according to Breitbart News.