Man arrested after throwing ‘flammable substance’ at stranger in New York subway station

(CNN) — A man was arrested after police accused him of throwing a “flammable substance” at a stranger and setting his shirt on fire in a New York City subway station.

Nile Taylor pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of attempted first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and three counts of second-degree menacing, according to a complaint filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

The Legal Aid Society, which represents Taylor, declined to comment.

The incident occurred around 2:45 p.m. on Saturday as a train pulled into Manhattan’s Houston Street Station. According to the complaint, Taylor threw a burning object at two people, causing a male victim’s body to catch fire and suffer “severe burns” to his head, neck, arm and chest. The burning substance was identified as alcohol, the complaint states.

Connections between suspects and victims

The suspect was unknown to the victim, police said. He fled the scene but was later arrested nearby, the NYPD said.

The 23-year-old male victim suffered burns to his upper body and was in stable condition after being transported to hospital, police said.

On Sunday, police said a 22-year-old woman had also been injured, but her condition and injuries were unclear.

Taylor is a suspect in an incident that New York Police said was similar to a similar incident earlier this year.

Police said Taylor was arrested separately on Sunday in connection with the incident that occurred on the evening of Feb. 5. He is accused of throwing a “burning container of flammable liquid” at a group of people standing on the southbound 1 train platform at the West 28th Street station in Manhattan, the NYPD said in March.

Taylor is charged with attempted assault, reckless endangerment and arson for the incident, the New York Police Department said. No injuries were reported.

The NYPD had no information about the suspect’s possible motive in either incident.

The NYPD said Taylor was 49 years old, while the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said he was 48.