Man accused of setting subway rider on fire at Penn Station now faces federal charges

Feds File Federal Charges Against Harlem Man Accused of Setting Subway Rider on Fire at Penn Station

Prosecutors have formally charged an 18-year-old Harlem man with arson charges in connection with the brutal attack on a homeless subway rider at Penn Station earlier this week. Hiram Carrero, who faces up to 40 years in prison, was arrested after investigators matched his face to body camera footage from a bicycle traffic stop just over a month prior.

According to federal prosecutors, Carrero appeared to scope out the train before committing the heinous act. Surveillance footage shows him entering and exiting the subway car around 3:02 a.m., taking a piece of paper from inside, lighting it on fire, and then fleeing as the doors closed. The victim, who was sleeping in the car at the time, suffered severe leg injuries after being engulfed by flames.

Witnesses described the scene as chaotic, with officers rushing to extinguish the flames upon arrival at 42nd Street. The victim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and has since been released from intensive care.

Federal investigators matched Carrero's face to the body camera footage through a bicycle traffic stop in October, where he was cited for running a red light on his bike. According to prosecutors, Carrero had distinctive features that were matched to surveillance images of a suspect seen leaving Penn Station.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described the attack as "horrific" and vowed to bring justice to the victim. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the attack "one of the most serious acts of violence a person can commit."

This incident comes almost a year after another homeless woman was fatally set on fire aboard an F train in Brooklyn. The suspect, Sebastian Zapeta, was charged with murder and arson earlier this year and pleaded not guilty.

Carrero has no prior arrests on record, but his attorney information is currently unavailable. He was remanded to federal detention following the judge's decision to release him on $100,000 bond, which prosecutors later appealed.

what's wrong with ppl these days? like how can u just scope out a subway car & set someone on fire?! hiram carrero sounds like a total psycho... and poor guy who got hurt hope he recovers from those injuries... 40 yrs in prison is way too easy for this crime though, gotta give him the max

I just heard about this crazy news at Penn Station and it still gives me chills . Setting someone on fire like that? It's just horrific. I feel so sorry for the victim who was just trying to sleep on the subway. And the fact that this young guy, Hiram Carrero, had no prior arrests but did something so heinous makes you wonder what was going through his mind .

And can we talk about the security at Penn Station? I mean, how does a guy even scope out the train like that without getting caught earlier? And then to be caught just a month later in a bike traffic stop? It's just one of those things where you're like, what was he thinking?!

But anyway, my heart goes out to the victim and his family. I hope they get some justice and that Hiram Carrero gets the help he needs. We need more people who care about our communities and each other .

can you believe what happened at Penn Station? like that guy Hiram Carrero just scope out the train and set a homeless dude on fire it's so sad and scary thinking about it. i feel for the victim who got hurt so bad, hope they're doing okay now.

it's crazy how fast justice was served, though. matching his face to the body cam footage from like a month ago must have been super helpful. but still, 40 years in prison is a lot. i guess it's good that Carrero's lawyer didn't try to make excuses or anything.

this whole thing just makes me so angry and sad . we need to do better for our homeless people who are already struggling. they deserve to be safe and treated with respect, not turned into victims of violence.

This is just devastating, a young person with their whole life ahead of them committing such a heinous act... 18 years old is so young to be facing up to 40 years in prison . And the fact that he had no prior arrests and was able to get $100k bond before the prosecutors appealed makes me think there are systemic issues at play here too .

The victim's story, being a homeless person just trying to survive... it's heartbreaking . The image of him engulfed in flames, the chaos on the subway car, it's like something out of a horror movie . I'm worried about the mental health resources being available for people struggling with homelessness and poverty, because if this is how someone feels, what else are they going through? .

I hope that justice is served and Carrero gets the punishment he deserves, but I also want to see some real change in our system so that this never happens again .

OMG, like, can't believe what's happening in our cities ! This whole thing at Penn Station is just heartbreaking. An 18-yr-old setting someone on fire because of their homelessness? It's not even about the crime itself, it's about how we're treating our most vulnerable people . We need to do better than this, we gotta address poverty, mental health, and access to services for those in need . And what's really concerning is that he was able to get away with it for so long before the feds stepped in . It just shows us how broken our system can be when we don't prioritize people over profits . We gotta work towards creating a society where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued .

man... this is just heartbreaking . you got a good Samaritan trying to get some rest on the subway and gets attacked like that... what's going on with our society right now? we gotta do better than this. i feel bad for the guy who was on that train, he didn't deserve to go through that. 40 years in prison is no joke either, but hopefully justice will be served eventually . my heart goes out to the victim and his family... hope they get the help they need .