Man found seriously burned at Penn Station week after woman torched alive on subway

A 56-year-old man with severe burns was discovered at Penn Station in New York City on Friday evening. The man was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and is now in stable condition, but the cause of his injuries remains unclear.

According to the New York Fire Department, officials responded to a call around 8 pm reporting a man with burns at the station. The New York Times reported that a department spokesperson confirmed the injuries were serious but not life-threatening.

Law enforcement blocked a hallway near the entrance to tracks 11 and 12 as part of their investigation at the station in Manhattan. How the fire started and how the man sustained the injuries is unknown at this time. No surveillance cameras were near the area where the man was discovered, and authorities have not yet determined whether the incident was accidental or criminal in nature.

Frequent passengers were concerned to hear about the fire, with one passenger explaining to the New York Post that the area has been a place for delinquency with a large homeless population and has been poorly lit.

“This is exactly the way I come to the office every day,” said software engineer Rahul Vemula to the New York Post. “It feels a little scary to travel everyday. Especially this hallway, it doesn’t seem safe sometimes. I see a lot of homeless people around here, at least in this hallway, this pathway. And it seems a little scary when you walk [it]. They need more lights and to move the homeless people from here.”

The case follows a high-profile incident from just several days ago in which a Guatemalan migrant was accused of setting a female subway passenger on fire, resulting in her death. The migrant, Sebastian Zapeta-Calili, has since been indicted on charges of murder and arson.