At least two high-profile subway crimes rocked the outer boroughs just days after Gov. Kathy Hochul added hundreds more National Guard members to the train system — leaving New Yorkers skeptical of their safety both above and below ground.
Quick-thinking police, along with help from the media and members of the public, arrested a suspect for the depraved killing of a woman who was set on fire as she was on board a Brooklyn F train, burning her to death on Sunday morning. The suspect — 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta-Calil — was charged Monday with first-degree murder.
Also on Sunday, a would-be perp was killed after he attempted to rob a stranger who fought back in self-defense by stabbing his attacker to death on board a 7 train in Queens. Several suspects were apprehended in connection with the deadly incident.
Both incidents happened after two people were shot at a Q train station in Brooklyn. Two people remained at large as of Monday afternoon.
After the horrific arson homicide in Brooklyn on Dec. 22, Hochul doubled down on her decision to add 250 more National Guard members to the subway system and cameras in every subway car on Dec. 18.
“A suspect is now in custody for the horrific incident on the F train,” she said in a statement on Sunday. “Our brand-new security cameras helped law enforcement find the suspect and arrest him.”
Despite the governor’s efforts to reinforce a sense of safety in the subways, many NYC public transportation users told amNewYork Metro Monday remained skeptical about security, and stressed that more must be done to protect them.
“I think there needs to be more consequences for violent crimes,” said Shula Wise, a Queens resident. “But this is something that has to be done on the City Council and court levels. Nothing can be done to protect the public in the subways if the city is soft on crime.”
Jessica Eitsirhc, who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, does not feel safe when she rides the trains. She would love to see more enforcement on trains to protect riders in addition to the National Guard members on platforms.
“If something happens to me on a train, no one is going to help me,” she said. “There needs to be people there to intervene. And if their presence is known, it may also minimize crime on the actual cars not just stations where the National Guard is. They’d just go to a different station to avoid them.”
But other New Yorkers do not see the issue solely as one of subway safety. Rather, they say, the answer is to address the city’s other social and economic woes, such as affordable housing, inflation, and high costs of living.
Public transportation users felt the effects of some of these issues recently after the MTA board approved both congestion pricing on Nov. 18 and later a subway and bus fare hike, which will likely be $3 come Aug. 2025.
One New Yorker, of whom amNewYork Metro obliged her request for anonymity, said having the National Guard on subways does not make her feel safe and also does not see security cameras as a financial priority for reducing crime. She is more concerned with the “poor quality of life” in NYC.
“The problem with the city is not the subways being more dangerous. It’s the poor quality of life, limited resources, and rising inflation,” she said. “Using our tax dollars to increase patrolling and installing cameras is not where our money should be spent.”
Still, others say keeping the city’s trains safe comes down to old-fashioned police patrol.
“I honestly never see the National Guard unless I’m at some big station in Manhattan, like Grand Central. I always felt the 7 line was fairly safe until this weekend,” said Harold, a Queens resident, alluding to Sunday’s fatal stabbing on the train. “I would like to see more police officers on trains. It’s really the only deterrent.”
