Guardian Angels resume patrols of NYC subway after woman burned alive
The Alliance of Guardian Angels, a volunteer crime prevention organization, vowed to resume patrolling the New York City subway system following several violent incidents, including an illegal immigrant burning a woman alive.
Guardian Angles founder Curtis Sliwa told The New York Post on Sunday that the nonprofit plans to increase its numbers and training efforts and has a goal to have the same presence it did in the late 20th century.
Founded in 1979, members of the nonprofit organization wear red berets and serve local communities by conducting unarmed patrols to defend vulnerable individuals. The group also offers youth mentorship programs and organizes service projects on behalf of the homeless.
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The group’s 150 members in New York City will start patrolling at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station, according to Sliwa. In addition to reporting any issues on the train to the New York Police Department, volunteers will offer wellness checks and water to the homeless or emotionally disturbed people.
“We’re covering the actual trains from front to back, walking through the trains and making sure that everything is OK,” Sliwa said. “We’re doing this constantly now. Starting today. That’s going to be our complete focus because the subways are out of control.”
Sliwa said “hundreds of citizens” want the volunteer prevention group to return to the subway after several high-profile incidents caused concern about safety on the subway.
However, New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the group's efforts a "meaningless stunt."
“If Curtis wants to be back down in the subway system, if he sees something, he should say something and he should do something,” Adams said Tuesday, according to The Daily News. “Don’t overstep your boundaries, like they did a few months ago when they arrested an innocent person. Let the police do their job.”
Adams' reference was to the group's February apprehension of a man in Times Square they accused of shoplifting, an incident aired while Sliwa was being interviewed on Fox News. A police spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that a "male was issued a summons for disorderly conduct" because he was "observed by officers to be acting in a loud, disorderly threatening manner on a crowded sidewalk causing public alarm."
In December, prosecutors charged Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree arson. Authorities say that the man approached a woman, later identified as Debrina Kawam of Toms River, New Jersey, on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station and lit her clothes on fire.
Officers patrolling the area detected smoke and went to investigate, later assisting a Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker to extinguish the flames engulfing the woman.
Surveillance footage showed Zapeta-Calil watching Kawam burn from a bench on the subway platform. Despite efforts to save the woman, authorities pronounced her dead at the scene. Police took the suspect into custody hours after the incident.
Immigration officials disclosed that Zapeta-Calil had previously been deported in 2018 but later reentered the United States illegally at an unknown date and location.
Last month, a jury found former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 subway death of Jordan Neely.
Neely, who was often homeless and sometimes earned money through street performances, reportedly threatened other subway passengers and behaved erratically around the time of his death. Penny placed the man in a chokehold. The defense argued that the former marine took action to protect his fellow passengers.
Republican lawmakers have criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policies, which they say compromised border security and allowed immigrants with criminal backgrounds to illegally enter the U.S..
Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal gang, has gained notoriety in the U.S. following reports of gang members present in apartment buildings and committing other crimes.
Members of the Tren de Aragua gang are reportedly attacking the U.S. southern border crossings, according to a leaked Texas Department of Public Safety memo shared by The New York Post on Tuesday.
Last week, 20 members of the Venezuelan gang, armed with blades, tire irons and broken bottles, attempted to storm a U.S. border gate. The memo warned of another planned attack on New Year’s Day.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
According to Victor Avila, a retired agent for Homeland Security Investigations, the gang is attempting to enter the U.S. before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
“You’re seeing that violence at the border because they know that it’s going to change in 27 days. It’s going to change. It’s going to be different, and they’re going to be sought after,” he told The Post.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
