26-Year-Old Woman Set on Fire on Chicago Train ID'd as Suspect Remains In Custody By Sean Neumann 63

The 26-year-old woman who was set on fire by a fellow passenger on a Chicago train earlier this month was identified by federal officials on social media this weekend.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy identified the victim as Bethany MaGee in a social media post on Sunday that called for more aggressive policing while noting the suspect’s past criminal history.

MaGee was set on fire while aboard a blue line L train in downtown Chicago on Monday, Nov. 17

Lawrence Reed was arrested the next day and charged in court with setting MaGee on fire, causing burns across more than half her body, according to CBS Chicago.

According to CBS, local ABC 7 Chicago, and local NBC 5 Chicago, the 50-year-old suspect was under court-ordered electronic surveillance at the time of the alleged incident.

Reed was on electronic monitoring at the time in connection with charges he faced from an alleged August attack on a social worker in a mental health facility, which left the alleged victim unconscious and requiring ongoing medical treatment, according to the outlets.

Reed reportedly has a lengthy criminal record, according to the outlets, including at least 10 felony charges and dozens of other arrests. “This is an absolute failure of our criminal justice and mental health institutions,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said last week, according to ABC 7.

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A federal criminal complaint reviewed by PEOPLE alleges that Reed filled a small bottle with gasoline at a local gas station about 20 minutes before the attack. The suspect then allegedly boarded the blue line train and approached MaGee from behind, dousing her with gasoline and chasing her to the back of the train car while attempting to light her on fire.

When Reed allegedly did set MaGee on fire, according to the criminal complaint, he then repeatedly yelled “burn b—!” and “burn alive b—!”

MaGee was able to run out of the train car when it stopped at the Lake & Clark station in Chicago’s downtown Loop area, collapsing on the passenger platform while bystanders rushed to help her. The federal criminal complaint said MaGee sustained “severe burns to her face and body.”

“The surveillance video is difficult to watch, and very disturbing, as a young woman was set ablaze, and tried to put herself out, while other passengers got out of the way or watched,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros said, according to CBS.

Reed now faces terrorism charges in the wake of the attack.

ABC 7 Chicago reported that Reed denied a public attorney at his first court hearing last Friday and requested to represent himself, attempting to plead guilty to the attack while a judge denied his plea given that the hearing was only to establish charges. U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally ordered Reed to be held in custody until his next hearing, saying he poses a danger to others, according to the outlet.