Police are still hunting for the attacker, who knew his victim and apparently grabbed something containing flammable liquid off a nearby cart and used it to torch the 45-year-old man.

Police in New York City are actively searching for an unidentified male suspect who lit a man on fire overnight Sunday in in the middle of Times Square.

Protesters rallied in Times Square on Saturday to call for the release of activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate​ who was arrested by ICE agents on March 8.

When protests against the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip took shape in the United States last year, Columbia University was one of the very first campuses to lend its strong voice. Mahmoud Khalil became a very familiar and outspoken figure amongst the student community.