Man Charged With Terrorism in Connection With Woman Set on Fire on Chicago Train By Madison E. Goldberg

A man has been charged with terrorism after allegedly lighting a woman on fire on a Chicago train.

Lawrence Reed, a resident of Chicago, has been charged with “committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system,” on Wednesday, Nov. 19, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois.

While police initially believed that an argument had taken place between the suspect and victim, the criminal complaint and statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office do not cite an argument having taken place.

“The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in federal prison,” the statement continued, before confirming that Reed, 50, was scheduled to make an initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally on Nov. 19.

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The attack happened just before 9:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17 while the 26-year-old woman was riding a CTA Blue Line train near the Clark and Lake station in the city’s Loop district, Chicago police said, per NBC 5 Chicago, ABC News, and CBS affiliate WYMT.

Police allege that Reed approached the victim while she was seated on the train with her back toward him. He then “took the cap off a bottle of liquid and poured the liquid all over the victim’s head and body,” the complaint alleges.

Police say that the victim tried to run away but that Reed caught up with her and ignited the bottle before it fell out of his hand. He then allegedly picked up the bottle as it burned, approached the victim, and used the bottle to light her on fire, according to the complaint.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was engulfed in flames, but was ultimately able to escape the train. She remains hospitalized with “critical injuries,” according to prosecutors.

Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, announced the original criminal complaint and Reed’s arrest.

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“This horrific attack was not just a barbaric assault on an innocent woman riding a train, but an act of terrorism that strikes at the core of our American way of life,” Boutros said in a press release. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, will take immediate and resolute action to bring swift justice to the victim while safeguarding the public as well as the fabric of our society.”