NEW YORK, NY — In a harrowing incident on the New York subway, 23-year-old Petrit Alijaj suffered severe burns after heroically jumping in front of his fiancée to protect her from a flaming liquid attack.
The assault occurred on Saturday around 2:45 p.m. as the couple and Alijaj’s cousin were en route to visit the Statue of Liberty, pulling into the Varick Street station in lower Manhattan.
Alijaj, who is originally from Albania, is now in New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital, covered in bandages across his upper body.
In an interview with the New York Post, he recounted the terrifying moment when the assailant, identified as 49-year-old Nile Taylor, boarded the No. 1 train carrying a cup filled with what seemed to be oil.
Without warning, Taylor ignited the contents and hurled them at the passengers.
Doctors have informed Alijaj that he has sustained burns on 30 percent of his body.
He remains in shock but is expected to recover in the hospital for at least a week. Describing the attack from his hospital bed, Alijaj demonstrated how the liquid was thrown, highlighting the sudden and unprovoked nature of the attack.
Unprovoked and violent attacks on the New York City subway system are on the rise in recent years.
