‘Daniel Penney Effect’ leads to bystanders not stepping in to help in NYC: critics
After an innocent woman was burned to death in a New York City subway car, several bystanders and even police officers appeared to stand by and did nothing to help, leading critics to lambast the so-called “Daniel Penney effect.”
The heinous crime was allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant who attacked the woman while she was sleeping. Sources told Fox News that the woman has not been identified days after the horrific incident because she suffered severe burns.
Investigators also believe she is homeless and are working to locate any possible family members.
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Sources previously identified Fox News Digital’s person of interest as 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta, who has been charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree arson.
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting fire to a woman on a New York City subway train, appeared in court on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Surveillance footage of Sunday’s attack showed the suspect approaching the motionless, possibly sleeping woman on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue subway station and then setting her on fire.
It’s also worth noting that the address Zapeta provided to police matched that of a substance abuse support center in New York City.
A man who lives in the same shelter in Zapeta reportedly smokes K2, a type of synthetic marijuana that can contain many different chemicals and drugs, “every day,” according to the New York Post.
The man also claimed that Zapeta regularly smoked, drank and then “quit.”
Suspect accused of burning woman to death on New York subway had previously been deported as an illegal immigrant
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting fire to a woman on a New York City subway train, appeared in court on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Zapeta, a previously deported Guatemalan immigrant, was apprehended by the Border Patrol and subsequently deported by the Trump administration in June 2018. Illegal crossing into Sonoita, Arizona, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Mary Ferguson previously told Fox News, adding that Zapeta later reentered the U.S. illegally.
Guardian Angel founder and local activist Curtis Sliwa told Fox News Digital that the recent violence on the New York subway was due to the “Daniel Penney effect.”
Sliwa described the chaotic scene and said no one was helping the woman, but people were filming the ordeal but were not cooperating with law enforcement, according to witnesses.
New York police arrest an immigrant suspected of setting fire to woman on subway and watch her burn to death
Daniel Penny arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday, November 22, 2024. Penny, a Marine Corps veteran, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Jordan Neely on a New York subway train. (Rashid Omar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
“I think it’s because of the chilling impact that the Daniel Penney incident had on the entire city. It wasn’t a racially divisive case … but I found that people just didn’t want to get involved,” Sliwa said.
“They don’t want to be infiltrated, which means, God forbid, as I say, dragged into court, prosecuted and have your life turned upside down.”
Daniel Penny, a Marine Corps veteran, was found not guilty of manslaughter in the subway choking death of Jordan Neely.
Penny was arrested in May 2023, nearly two weeks after he was questioned and released following a fatal encounter with Neely. The student is in a headlock from behind.
Neely also had active arrest warrants and a lengthy criminal history at the time of his death. He suffered from schizophrenia and a drug problem.
Sliwa said it was a similar situation to Neely’s, with reports that Zapeta was smoking $30 worth of K2 a day and drinking copious amounts of cheap vodka, which he called “a recipe for chaos.”
“No one was involved and there were no police on the train. When the police responded, they didn’t act quickly. I think more and more you’re going to see citizens retreating,” Sliwa explained.
Retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro also weighed in on the incident, explaining that a source told him that an officer was looking for a fire extinguisher and that police were working as quickly as possible based on the situation. reaction.
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“Look, no matter what anyone says, you can never completely cover the subway. Given the size of the New York City subway system, transit police do a great job,” Mauro said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul On Sunday, she took to social media to tout how safer the New York City subway system has become thanks to her efforts, claiming that crime on the city’s subways has dropped since she deployed the National Guard in March.
The woman was burned alive on the subway that day. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office but did not receive a response.
Fox News’ Alexis McAdams, Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Lorraine Taylor contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a contributor to Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
