Man has third of skin burnt shielding girlfriend from flaming liquid attack

26 May 2024 , 10:00

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Police tracked the attacker through a phone call (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One man jumped in front of the firing line of a bundle of flaming liquid to protect his fiancé in a New York subway station.

Petrit Alijaj, 23, was wrapped head to toe in bandages after he was victim to a maniac’s violence, leaving 30 per cent of his body severely burnt.

In an act of heroism, the 23-year-old used his body as a shield to protect his fiancé and cousin, putting out the flames on his own body, winding him up on a week long stay in The New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital, he told the New York Post.

Petrit said it was worth it to protect his loved ones and he is “not so much pain now,” due to his high dosage of pain killers, managing only to say “Oh my God” to describe the pain before.

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The victim had roughly 30 per cent of his skin burnt (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The man, originally from Albania, was on the No. 1 train on the way to visit the Statue of Liberty around 2:45 p.m. when they were attacked by a man, now identified as 49-year-old Nile Taylor, at Varick Street station in lower Manhattan.

Taylor got on with a “cup” in his hand filled with liquid, with Petrit describing the substance as something “like oil” saying “he made fire and he threw it all.”

Petrit’s shirt immediately caught fire, with the man saying “ I touched myself to put out the fire” before he made an escape, alongside Taylor who also ran off the train. He added: “So while I was running I was burning.”

Petrit ripped off his burning t-shirt to reveal that he was covered in blisters when he arrived at the hospital with burns on his neck, ears, chest, arms and left hand. Petrit tried to cool his burns in the water of an FDNY firetruck hose.

He told the Post that doctors were not sure yet how bad his burns were, saying they needed to determine “how deep the fire got into skin.”

The inside of Petrit's ear was covered with giant, painful-looking blisters at the hospital but he “can still hear.” Taylor was arrested shortly after the attack with police tracking a cell phone he had picked up on the platform while fleeing. He was then caught around five blocks away at Canal Street and Renwick Street, near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.

Police are currently investigating whether Taylor was responsible for another flaming liquid attack that took place at a straphanger in February.

Emilia Randall