Teen Charged for Setting Homeless Man on Fire in Subway Horror Attack

The distinctively mustached maniac who allegedly set a homeless man on fire aboard a Times Square subway train on Monday December 1 has been charged for his crime. The horror attack occurred at approximately 3:03 a.m. on a northbound B train.

The federal charge against 18-year-old Hiram Carerro of Harlem for setting ablaze James George III, 55, of the Bronx is arson resulting in injury to another person.

Carrero appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger on Dec. 5 and is being held without bail.

Announcing the federal complaint were United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton; Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), Bryan DiGirolamo; FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker; and NYPD Commissioner, Jessica S. Tisch.

“This alleged outrageous and senseless attack received an immediate response from our elite joint task force,” said FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker. “Our Fire Marshals worked side by side with our partners in the NYPD and ATF to identify and apprehend this suspect quickly. Their work has removed a dangerous individual from the streets of New York City and the FDNY will continue to work closely with our public safety partners to keep New Yorkers safe.”

“Hiram Carrero showed a complete disregard for human life when he allegedly set a sleeping New Yorker on fire inside a subway car,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “This attack is among the most serious acts of violence a person can commit, and it has no place in our city—above or below ground. This case also reflects the exceptional work of the NYPD’s Detective Bureau, whose investigators worked closely with our federal partners to identify the individual responsible.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint and statements made in open Court:

At approximately 3:03 a.m., Carrero entered a northbound train at the 34th Street–Penn Station subway stop. He picked up a piece of paper from the subway car lit it on fire near where the victim was sleeping, and jumped out of the car just as the doors were closing.

Video from inside the train car shows that as the train traveled north towards the 42nd Street–Times Square subway stop, the fire flared up, engulfing the victim’s legs and a portion of the train car in flames. When the train arrived at 42nd Street–Times Square, the victim emerged, burning from the train.

Police on the platform responded to the victim immediately and extinguished the fire. The victim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

The charge against Carrero carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

Confronted outside her Harlem home that Friday evening, the suspect’s stressed mother, Wanda Carrero, 63, told the Daily News “I just got out of court. I’m having an asthma attack.”

Asked about Hirman, his mom answered, “I don’t understand. My son is a kind and decent kid,” and then slammed the apartment door shut.

Not Just a Homeless Man, But a Man

Writing on GoFundMe, Jay Armani, the son of the subway fire attack victim wrote:

“My 55-year-old father, James George III, a native of Bronx, New York, was set on fire on Monday, December 1, 2025. My father was a passenger on the Manhattan Subway Train when 18-year-old perpetrator, Hiram Carrero, tried to kill him by setting him on fire and leaving him for dead. This horrendous, heinous act of violence caused significant and life-threatening burns to his legs. My father’s legs were so badly scorched that the police found charred skin on the train seat he was sitting in.

My father recently moved back to New York two months ago to make a better life for himself; however, trying to make it day-to-day became difficult, and he found himself on hard times. Too proud to turn to family for help, he found himself with no job and homeless. Although my father may have been homeless, he is a good man. No matter what his economic situation is, he is still a person and never deserved to have been treated in such an inhumane way and set on fire like a discarded piece of paper.

Due to the extent of his injuries, every second is touch and go as he fights to save his legs from being amputated, and is just praying to God to one day be able to walk again. He has a long road of medical recovery ahead of him and is in need of financial assistance. We are asking for your generosity and help during his time of suffering and need.”

Speaking to the Daily News, George himself said “Irt was a senseless act of violence. It’s a terrible thing because there’s no rhyme or reason for it... I was sleeping, and the dude just me on fire.”

“Some people just want to see the world burn, man,” George continued. “They’re not comfortable with lack of chaos. ... They want to see mayhem.”

Another Year, Another Subway Fire Attack

Carrero’s alleged fire attack against George III eerily recalls the hideous subway arson attack against a 57-year-old homeless woman, Debrina Kawam, on December 22, 2024.

In that incident, she was set afire while sleeping aboard an F train that had stopped at the end of its line at Coney Island. Rapidly consumed by fire, she died, while her alleged killer, an illegal migrant from Guatemala named Sebastian Zapeta, 33, watched the flames dance from the platform before fleeing on another train.

Zapeta (sometimes reported as Zapeta-Calil) was arrested later that day on a subway at Herald Square. The tip leading to his arrest came from a group of high school students who recognized Zapeta—who was wearing the same clothes he had on that morning—on their car.

Zapeta had been deported once before in 2018 and at the time of his crime, he was a resident of Samaritan Village Forbell, a homeless men’s shelter East New York, Brooklyn. Zapeta-Calil was subsequently indicted in Brooklyn with first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, and first-degree arson. He remains on Rikers Island where he’s being held without bail.

It was reported that Zapeta was drunk and high on K2 and does not remember burning a woman alive.

Zapeta is being held without bail on Rikers Island.