In a horrifying incident, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, allegedly set a sleeping woman on fire and eventually killed her on Sunday, December 22. Now, footage from the incident shows several bystanders and even an NYPD officer just staring or standing in the subway station without helping her.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Video footage shows the woman slowly burning to her death while three witnesses watch her fatal demise take place right before their eyes. One of them even recorded her death, according to the New York Post. Viral images on social media also show a New York City Police Department officer standing outside the subway car. The woman was burning beside him.
Subsequently, many users online and authorities have heavily criticized the lack of empathy and the refusal to provide help to the unidentified woman. "People are reticent about getting in the middle of criminal activity," Gerard Kassar, Conservative Party Chairman, told the New York Post.
"There are a lot of New York City residents who think twice about acting because they don't think they have the support of our Democratic elected officials," Kassar continued. "They are wary of revolving door justice."
The Daniel Penny Effect?
Others connected the woman's death with Daniel Penny. Authorities charged Penny with murder and later acquitted him after fatally choking Jordan Neely in Manhattan. Some say that fear of legal repercussions now deters people from intervening in events of this nature.
"Nobody came to her aid," Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Angels founder, said. "There's no doubt that people don't want to get involved. It's the Daniel Penny factor. It's frozen people. They're saying to themselves: 'I don't want to get jammed up like Penny.'"
"People should have been running over to the woman on fire. They did nothing. They said nothing." Sliwa would then pen this inaction as the "Daniel Penny effect."
A Deeper Issue
In an opinion piece, New York Post's Kirsten Fleming blasts the witness's reluctance to help the woman. She calls the footage a "dystopian horror show." "The whole scene of this gruesome killing embodies multiple layers of our dysfunctional city — and the brokenness of our society, writ large," Fleming wrote.
Democrat New York State Senator Leroy Comrie seems to agree with Fleming. He blames the current "mess" on "the actions of previous administrations." "There are too many [mentally ill] people who should be in facilities who are out in the streets. Some of these people need to be restricted in their movements."
Authorities later charged Sebastian Zapeta-Calil with murder.
