NYC teen gets 5 1/2 years for subway burning attack

U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman sentenced Hiram Carrero to 66 months in prison after the New York City high school senior admitted setting fire to a man sleeping inside a subway car.

Carrero, 19, of New York, New York, pleaded guilty to arson on March 5, 2026, and was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. The sentence also includes three years of supervised release and restitution.

Carrero boarded a New York City subway car at the 34th Street–Penn Station stop in the early morning hours of December 1, 2025, picked up a piece of paper, lit it on fire near the sleeping victim and then stepped back onto the platform as the doors closed. The train pulled away with the man still inside, and video showed the blaze flaring as the train traveled north toward 42nd Street–Times Square, where the victim emerged burning. First responders extinguished the flames minutes later and the man was taken to the hospital in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said first responders saved the victim’s life and a horrific tragedy was averted. Federal prosecutors called the conduct “breathtaking, horrific, and unconscionable,” and praised the work of the NYPD, FDNY Fire Marshals and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the investigation.