Woman Is Lit on Fire on Chicago Train After Argument Escalates, Person of Interest in Custody By Nicole Acosta

A woman was set on fire aboard a train in Chicago, and police said they have taken a person of interest into custody.

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 said a verbal argument between the woman and a 45-year-old man escalated when the man poured flammable liquid on her and then set her on fire, ABC News reported.

When the train stopped at the station, the man fled the scene while the woman collapsed on the platform, NBC 5 reported, citing police.

A witness recalled the attack to NBC 5, saying the woman “looked like she was in an awful lot of pain.”

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Police said the woman suffered “severe burns” all over her body and that she remains in critical condition at a hospital, per NBC 5. Firefighters who responded to the scene extinguished the flames before officers arrived, the outlet reported.

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, police confirmed they had taken a person of interest into custody but said the investigation remains ongoing, ABC News and NBC 5 reported.