New York City police said on Saturday afternoon (25th) that Nile Taylor, a homeless man suspected of throwing a cup of ignited liquid at passengers in a subway car, has been identified as the suspect in a similar incident from February this year. Taylor, who was arrested on Saturday, appeared in Manhattan court on Monday, where a judge set his bail at $250,000.
According to information released by the New York City Police Department’s Public Information Office (DCPI), Nile Taylor, a 49-year-old homeless man with no fixed address, had previously served two sentences in state prison for illegal possession of firearms and counterfeiting.
The victim of the incident was identified as 23-year-old Petrit Alijaj. He told the New York Post that he and his fiancée were riding the subway train when the incident occurred. Around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, at Houston Street subway station, as the train was about to stop, Taylor suddenly threw a cup of burning liquid at them. Alijaj shielded his fiancée from the liquid, but the flames quickly spread to his upper body, causing severe burns. He was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he is currently in stable condition. Doctors estimated that about 30% of his body was burned.
Alijaj told abc7 that Taylor had a strange look in his eyes before the attack but said nothing. He described the moment Taylor ignited the liquid in the subway car, just as the train pulled into Houston Street and the doors were about to open.
After the attack, Taylor fled the scene with a woman’s iPhone that had fallen at the subway exit. Police tracked down Taylor using the stolen phone and arrested him near Canal St and Renwick St around 3:15 p.m. on the 25th.
On the morning of the 26th, Taylor was charged with arson, assault, endangerment, reckless endangerment, and possession of stolen property. On the 27th, he appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court, where the judge set his bail at $250,000 and ordered him to remain in custody.
Assistant District Attorney Aryan Ahmadian stated on Monday that the liquid Taylor used was flammable alcohol. He had splashed the burning liquid on two strangers in the subway car, severely injuring Alijaj on his face, neck, ears, arms, and chest, while another victim suffered burns to the chest.
Police revealed that on the evening of February 5th, just before 7:04 p.m., Taylor had also thrown a burning container at passengers on the platform at 28th Street subway station, fortunately causing no injuries.