A teenager is facing a federal arson charge for allegedly setting a sleeping homeless man on fire on a New York City subway train, officials said.
Authorities arrested 18-year-old Hiram Carrero on Thursday night, and he appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday.
Carrero, accused of lighting a homeless man on fire aboard a northbound 3 train, was taken from the NYPD’s 9th Precinct on Dec. 4, 2025.
The 56-year-old victim was asleep on a 3 train around 3 a.m. Monday when the suspect entered the subway car at 34th Street–Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, according to police. Surveillance images included in the federal complaint show the victim alone in the car.
Investigators said Carrero approached the victim and set his legs on fire. According to the complaint, he then fled the train just as the doors were closing.
The victim exited at the next stop, Times Square, still engulfed in flames, the complaint said. Surveillance footage captured him sitting on the platform with fire rising from his upper legs.
Law enforcement officers arrived quickly, extinguished the flames, and rushed him to a hospital, where he remained in critical condition, according to the complaint.
Carrero made his initial court appearance on Friday before a federal magistrate who ordered his release. Prosecutors appealed, and a district court judge ordered him held.
Carrero was first arrested on state charges, including attempted murder.
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