DailyKenn.com | AbateHate.com | New Facebook Group
Update: Chicago - 26-year-old Bethany MaGee has been identified as the victim of a brutal attack in which she was set aflame while riding a Chicago transit train. Lawrence Reed, 50, was arrested. He is reportedly a career criminal with 72 prior arrests.
MaGee remains in critical condition [More ►].
CHICAGO (DailyKenn.com) — A 50-year-old Chicago man with an extensive criminal record faces federal terrorism charges after allegedly dousing a woman with gasoline and setting her ablaze on a Blue Line train, an unprovoked attack that left the victim fighting for her life and reignited debates over repeat offenders and public transit safety.
Your $8 monthly partner pledge helps us reach others & more ►
Lawrence Reed was arrested Tuesday and charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court with committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation system, a rarely invoked statute that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison — or the death penalty if the 26-year-old victim dies.
The assault unfolded around 9:25 p.m. Monday aboard CTA train car No. 3236 as it approached the Clark/Lake station in the Loop. Surveillance video shows Reed, seated several feet behind the woman as she scrolled on her phone, suddenly standing and approaching her from behind. He uncapped a plastic bottle containing gasoline — purchased about 20 minutes earlier at a Citgo station on West Harrison Street — and poured the accelerant over her head and torso.
The woman fought him off and fled toward the front of the car as Reed chased her, igniting the bottle's remnants and using the flaming container to set her clothing and hair on fire. Engulfed in flames, she rolled on the train floor in a desperate attempt to extinguish the blaze. As the train doors opened, she stumbled onto the platform, still burning, and collapsed. Bystanders rushed to her aid, patting out the flames with their hands and jackets until paramedics arrived. She was rushed to Stroger Hospital in critical condition with severe burns over much of her upper body; her identity has not been released.
Reed, meanwhile, calmly exited the train and walked away. Investigators recovered a partially melted bottle, a lighter, burned clothing remnants and traces of ignitable liquid from the car. Less than 30 minutes later, Tuesday morning detectives spotted him blocks away on West Washington Street, dressed in the same clothes from the footage and sporting burns on his right hand consistent with handling fire. Body-camera video captured Reed shouting “burn, bitch” and “burn alive, bitch” repeatedly as officers took him into custody.
Federal authorities, leading the probe with Chicago police and the CTA, described the attack as “barbaric” and without apparent motive. Reed's court appearance Wednesday was chaotic: He interrupted the judge multiple times, yelling “I plead guilty!” and demanding to represent himself while claiming Chinese citizenship. He remains detained ahead of a Friday detention hearing, where a mental health evaluation is ordered.
Reed's background includes dozens of arrests in Cook County dating to at least 2017, with multiple felony prosecutions for violent crimes. Convictions span aggravated arson — including a 2020 incident where he poured gasoline outside the Thompson Center state building and received two years of mental health probation — battery causing bodily harm, criminal trespass and vandalism, such as smashing Blue Line windows at O'Hare Airport in 2019. Just months ago, in August, he was accused of assaulting a social worker at a psychiatric hospital and released on electronic monitoring.
The case has drawn sharp criticism of Illinois' bail reform policies, which critics say enable “revolving door” justice for dangerous individuals. ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Amon said Reed “had no business being on the streets” after receiving “plenty of second chances,” leaving an innocent woman hospitalized. U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros called it an assault “on our American way of life,” vowing swift accountability. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson labeled it an “isolated incident” but pledged enhanced transit security, while riders and advocates decried rising violence on the system.
Man accused of setting woman on fire aboard Chicago train is charged with terrorism
Man accused of setting woman on fire on Chicago train faces federal terrorism charge
Chicago Man Who Allegedly Lit Woman on Fire on Blue Line Train Charged With Terrorist Attack
'Brutal and vicious' Blue Line attack leads to terrorism charge after woman set on fire
Your $8 monthly partner pledge helps us reach others & more ►
Find archived black-on-white homicide news reports here ►
200 latest news reports from 100 top conservative websites