The Guatemalan national who allegedly set a woman on fire on the New York subway was in the U.S. illegally and had previously been deported.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, came to the U.S. on June 1, 2018, and was sent back to Guatemala days later, according to Marie Ferguson, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It’s unclear when he illegally re-entered the country.
Zapeta-Calil was charged with first and second-degree murder, and first-degree arson.
About 7:30 a.m. Sunday, a woman who was not identified was sleeping on a stationary F train at the Stillwell Avenue Subway Station when a man lit her on fire with a lighter, police said.
After leaving the subway, the suspect sat on a platform bench, and an officer’s body camera captured clear imagery of him that was made public via a wanted flier, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform, just outside the train car, and the body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear, detailed look at the killer,” she said.
Tisch said the man “calmly walked up to the victim and used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing.”
The woman was declared dead at the scene. (NBC News)
Incoming border czar Tom Homan said the tragic incident was just the latest example of the consequences of the Biden administration's failed border policies.
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“Here’s another example of an illegal alien killing an American citizen,” he said Monday on “Fox & Friends."
“It’s almost a daily occurrence now, because a historic number of criminal aliens are walking the streets, because of this administration’s policy in sanctuary jurisdictions and lax immigration enforcement," he added.
Homan said the Trump administration would begin the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history on Day One, starting with public safety and national security threats.
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