Prosecutors: Times Square Food Cart Vendor Set Man on Fire, Fled to Egypt, Arrested by NYPD, Indicted

NEW YORK — A Manhattan grand jury has indicted a 23-year-old food cart vendor accused of setting a man on fire in Times Square, an attack that left the victim with severe burns and in a medically induced coma, prosecutors said Monday.

The defendant, Ahmad Mossad, is charged with attempted murder in the first degree and assault in the first degree, both class B felonies, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described the alleged attack as “absolutely heinous,” saying Mossad attempted to evade prosecution by fleeing the country shortly after the incident.

According to court filings, Mossad was working as a food cart vendor on West 41st Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue in the early morning hours of March 16 when the 45-year-old victim, a club promoter, approached his cart. After a brief interaction, prosecutors say the victim walked away.

Authorities allege Mossad then poured gasoline from the cart into a small bottle and waited along the street until the victim returned. After another encounter, Mossad is accused of igniting the fuel with a lighter and setting the man on fire.

The victim was engulfed in flames and ran through Times Square screaming for help before nearby police officers extinguished the fire and rushed him to a hospital. Prosecutors say he suffered second- and third-degree burns over nearly 20% of his body and remained in a medically induced coma for several weeks.

Investigators said Mossad fled to Egypt within hours of the attack and remained overseas for more than eight months. He was arrested by New York City police upon returning to the United States at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Nov. 25.

Mossad, who is listed as a resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, remains in custody. No attorney information was immediately available.

The case is being prosecuted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office with assistance from multiple NYPD units involved in the investigation.