Overview
- The attack occurred Dec. 1, 2025, when Hiram Carrero boarded an uptown No. 3 train at 34th Street–Penn Station, lit a piece of paper next to a sleeping man and stepped off as the victim caught fire.
- Carrero pleaded guilty to a federal arson charge in March and admitted he intentionally ignited the paper that severely burned the 56-year-old victim.
- U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman sentenced Carrero Tuesday to 66 months in prison, ordered three years of supervised release and restitution, and imposed a term above the arson mandatory minimum but below the attempted-murder range prosecutors sought.
- Investigators with the ATF-led New York Arson and Explosives Task Force identified Carrero by comparing subway surveillance footage to police body-camera video from an earlier encounter, working with the NYPD and FDNY.
- Prosecutors argued the act showed intent to kill while defense lawyers cited Carrero’s troubled early-life and neurodevelopmental history, the victim remains critically injured with permanent scarring, and the case follows several high-profile transit arson attacks that have focused federal and local enforcement on subway safety.