nypost.com Open in urlscan Pro
192.0.66.32  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Close the sidebar
 * US News
   * Metro
   * Politics
 * World News
 * Page Six
 * Sports
   * NFL
   * MLB
   * NBA
   * NHL
   * College Football
   * College Basketball
   * WNBA
 * Post Sports+
 * Sports Betting
 * Business
   * Personal Finance
 * Opinion
 * Entertainment
   * TV
   * Movies
   * Music
   * Celebrities
   * Awards
   * Theater
 * Shopping
 * Lifestyle
   * Weird But True
   * Health
     * Fitness
     * Health Care
     * Medicine
     * Men’s Health
     * Women’s Health
     * Mental Health
     * Nutrition
   * Sex & Relationships
   * Viral Trends
   * Human Interest
   * Parenting
   * Fashion & Beauty
   * Food & Drink
   * Travel
 * Real Estate
 * Alexa
 * Media
 * Tech
 * Astrology
 * Video
 * Photos
 * Visual Stories
 * * Today’s Paper
   * Covers
   * Columnists
   * Horoscopes
   * Crosswords & Games
   * Sports Odds
   * Podcasts
   * Careers
 * * Email Newsletters
   * Official Store
   * Home Delivery
   * Tips

Close the sidebar
Menu
 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Flipboard
 * WhatsApp
 * Email
 * 

TRENDING NOW IN US NEWS

Skip to main content

KNIFE-WIELDING MADMAN ATTACKS 4 GIRLS AT MOVIE THEATER, 2 OTHERS...

NYC STRAPHANGER WHO WAS SET ON FIRE BLOCKED FIANCÉE FROM...

ENGLISH TEACHER AT POSH $61K-PER-YEAR NYC SCHOOL RESIGNS AFTER...

Metro


MANIAC WHO SET NYC STRAPHANGER ON FIRE WAS BEHIND EARLIER SIMILAR INCIDENT: COPS

By Joe Marino and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Published May 26, 2024, 12:35 p.m. ET

The deranged nut who tossed flaming liquid at an unsuspecting straphanger also
tried to torch a group of commuters at a Manhattan subway station earlier this
year, cops said Sunday.

Nile Taylor, 49 — who is in custody on an assault rap in the fiery Saturday
afternoon attack on 23-year-old Petrit Alijaj at the Varick Street station in
Manhattan — has now been charged over a similar Feb. 5 incident at the West 28th
Street subway station, too, police said.

Advertisement

A man now identified as Taylor can be seen on surveillance footage in the
February incident holding two cans of flammable liquid and hurling them at a
group of people at the station.

3
Nile Taylor, 49, is charged with hurling flaming liquid at a straphanger in
Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, cops said. William Farrington
3
Police said Taylor was also the dangerous firebug who hurled two burning cans at
straphangers in Manhattan in February. DCPI

Advertisement


EXPLORE MORE


NYC STRAPHANGER WHO WAS SET ON FIRE BLOCKED FIANCÉE FROM MANIAC’S FLAMING LIQUID
IN SUBWAY ATTACK, HAS BURNS ON 30 PERCENT OF HIS BODY


KNIFE-WIELDING MADMAN ATTACKS 4 GIRLS AT MOVIE THEATER, 2 OTHERS AT MCDONALD'S
IN STABBING SPREE: POLICE


ENGLISH TEACHER AT POSH $61K-PER-YEAR NYC SCHOOL RESIGNS AFTER SEX ABUSE CLAIMS
BY HER FORMER STUDENT

No one was hurt in the incident, and the suspect fled and remained on the lam
until now.

Around 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Alijaj and his fiancee were about to get off a No. 1
train at West Houston and Varick streets as they headed to the Statue of Liberty
when Taylor allegedly hurled flaming liquid at him.

Advertisement

The burn victim told The Post on Saturday that he used his body to block his
girlfriend from the flames.

“I protect my fiancee with my body,” he said.

Alijaj ended up ripping off his burning shirt while his assailant fled the
scene.

Advertisement

“I touched myself to put out the fire,” Alijaj recalled. “So, while I was
running, I was burning.

“The doctors said 30% of my body was burnt. But I don’t think it is 30%. Maybe
more like 10%,” he said.

The victim was taken to New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital to be
treated for his burns.

Advertisement

Taylor was nabbed by cops about five blocks away at Canal and Renwick streets
near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel — done in by the cell phone he’d swiped
off the subway platform afterward, allowing quick-thinking officers to track him
down through it.

He was being questioned by NYPD detectives and awaiting arraignment Sunday — as
cops identified him as the alleged suspect in the earlier incident,
law-enforcement sources said.

He is now charged with assault, arson, reckless endangerment and weapons
possession in the February case.

Advertisement

3
Petrit Alijaj, 23, was set on fire by the deranged vagrant Saturday, suffering
burns on 30% of his body, police said. William Farrington
What do you think? Post a comment.

Taylor also has been arrested for theft of service in a sealed case and criminal
possession of a weapon in 1997, sources said.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, he isn’t the only alleged vagrant firebug in the transit system.

In March, police charged Israel Montero, a Bronx menace with a history of
emotional disturbances, with setting a garbage bag on fire on a subway car at
the 125th Street station in Manhattan.

Montero, 49, even set his own shoes on fire in the May 3 blaze, police said.


Ad



SHARE THIS:


Filed under arrests ,  arson ,  fires ,  manhattan ,  subways ,  5/26/24
Load more...

{{#isDisplay}}


{{/isDisplay}}{{#isAniviewVideo}} {{/isAniviewVideo}}{{#isSRVideo}}
{{/isSRVideo}}



TRENDING NOW

 1. Two-time PGA tour winner often talked about his past depression, alcohol
    issues before his death at 30
 2. NYC straphanger who was set on fire blocked fiancée from maniac’s flaming
    liquid in subway attack, has burns on 30 percent of his body
 3. Knife-wielding madman attacks 4 girls at movie theater, 2 others at
    McDonald's in stabbing spree: police
 4. English teacher at posh $61K-per-year NYC school resigns after sex abuse
    claims by her former student
 5. Tragedy of John and Carolyn: New book reveals surprising truth about doomed
    Kennedy marriage
 6. 'The Bachelorette' star Ryan Sutter addresses speculation that wife Trista
    'died'

https://nypost.com/2024/05/26/us-news/maniac-who-set-nyc-straphanger-on-fire-was-behind-earlier-similar-incident-cops/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons
Copy the URL to share
 * Post Sports+
 * Email Newsletters
 * Mobile Apps
 * Contact Us
 * Tips

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram
 * LinkedIn
 * Email
 * YouTube

© 2024 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Terms of Use | Privacy

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information/Opt-Out
Exit mobile version