Critics are criticizing what they refer to as the “Daniel Penny effect” following a horrific incident in New York City where bystanders, including police officers, seemed to do nothing as a woman was set on fire and tragically burned to death on a subway car.
The appalling crime was reportedly committed by an undocumented immigrant who deliberately targeted the woman while she was sleeping. According to sources cited by Fox News, the woman remains unidentified several days after the incident due to the severe burns she sustained.
Investigators also believe that she was homeless and are working to track down any possible family members.
Daniel Penny arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court, Friday, November 22, 2024. Penny, a Marine veteran, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train.(Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
“And I think that’s because of the chilling effect that the Daniel Penny situation had on this entire city. It was not a racially divisive case… but what I have detected is that people just don’t want to get involved,” Sliwa said.
“They don’t want to be penetrated, as I call it, which means, God forbid, dragged into court, prosecuted, and then have your life turned upside down.”
Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran, was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely.
Penny was arrested in May 2023, nearly two weeks after he was questioned and released following a deadly encounter with Neely, who was high on drugs and threatening to kill people on a Manhattan F train when the 26-year-old architecture student grabbed him in a headlock from behind.
Neely also had an active arrest warrant and lengthy criminal history at the time of his death. He had schizophrenia and a drug abuse problem.
Sliwa said this was similar to Neely’s case and that sources say Zapeta had smoked up to $30 a day worth of K2, plus drinking cheap vodka heavily, which he said is a “recipe for mayhem.”
“Nobody got involved, no police on that train. When the police did respond. They didn’t do it expeditiously. And I think increasingly, you are going to see citizens just retreat,” Sliwa explained.
Retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro also weighed in on the incident and explained that a source told him that an officer was looking for a fire extinguisher and police were responding as fast they could under the circumstances.
“Look, you can never fully cover the subway, no matter what anybody says. And with the size of the New York City subway system, the transit cops do a great job,” Mauro said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul was slammed on social media Sunday after touting how safe the New York City subway system has become thanks to her efforts, claiming that crime has decreased on Big Apple trains since she deployed the National Guard in March.
The woman was burned alive on the subway the very same day. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office but did not hear back.
Fox News’ Alexis McAdams, Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz, and Lorraine Taylor contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
