A Manhattan teenager who set a sleeping man on fire inside a subway car at 34th Street-Penn Station will spend 66 months in federal prison, a judge ruled Tuesday. The 19-year-old, Hiram Carrero, had already admitted to the attack and will also serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman imposed the sentence after prosecutors described a deliberate act that left the victim with life-threatening burns, in a case that has renewed questions about subway safety and the reach of federal arson laws.
Subway arsonist sentenced to 5.5 years for lighting man on fire: “Thanks to first responders and the women and men of the NYPD and the FDNY, the victim’s life was saved, and a horrific tragedy was averted,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Subway safety is front of mind for our…
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 23, 2026
Sentence and federal response
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, Carrero pleaded guilty to arson on March 5 and was sentenced Tuesday to 66 months in prison. "Setting fire to another person is a breathtaking, horrific, and unconscionable crime," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in the statement.
The office credited the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the NYPD and FDNY Fire Marshals with building the case, and identified Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Molis as the lead prosecutor. The announcement was also shared on X.
What happened on the train
As reported by The Associated Press, surveillance footage and court records show Carrero boarding a northbound 3 train at the 34th Street-Penn Station stop around 3 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2025. He lit a piece of paper, dropped it near a sleeping rider, then stepped back onto the platform as the doors closed.
The passenger emerged at the next station, 42nd Street-Times Square, with his legs and torso on fire and was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Prosecutors said the victim's life was saved because station staff and first responders put out the flames quickly.
Investigation and arrest
Investigators later matched the subway surveillance images to body-worn camera footage from an October police stop and arrested Carrero in Harlem a few days after the incident, local outlets reported. Authorities initially charged him with attempted murder, multiple counts of assault, arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, according to CBS New York.
Carrero's attorney told reporters that at the time of his arrest, he was a high school student who lived with and cared for his disabled mother.
Legal notes
Prosecutors had previously said the federal arson charge could carry a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years if Carrero were convicted at trial, a point noted in earlier reporting by The Associated Press. His March plea deal instead led to the 66-month sentence imposed Tuesday.
Court filings and the U.S. Attorney's press release list the prison term, three years of supervised release and an order to pay restitution to the victim. Federal prosecutors said the outcome reflects coordinated work between federal agents and New York City investigators.
Hoodline first reported on Carrero's arrest in December, following the filing of the federal complaint and early investigative details. For more background on the case, see 18-Year-Old Charged.
