Man Accused Of Setting Woman On Fire on Chicago Train Faces Federal Terrorism Charge

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Federal authorities have charged a Chicago man with carrying out a terrorist attack after he allegedly doused a woman with gasoline and set her on fire aboard a CTA Blue Line train earlier this week.

According to an affidavit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, investigators say 50-year-old Lawrence Reed was seated at the back of a train car Monday night when he approached a 26-year-old woman who was sitting ahead of him. After removing the cap from a plastic bottle, Reed “doused the woman with what was believed to be gasoline,” the affidavit states.

Surveillance footage captured him at a gas station roughly half an hour earlier, filling a small container with fuel.

When the woman tried to move away, Reed allegedly ignited the bottle and approached her again, setting her on fire. Witnesses said the train car erupted into chaos as passengers scrambled to escape the flames.

The woman managed to stumble off the train at a downtown station, collapsing on the platform. She was rushed to the hospital with extensive burns to her head and body and remains in critical condition. Police have not released her name.

According to CNN, Reed, who fled the scene, was arrested Tuesday morning. Investigators said he was wearing the same clothing seen on surveillance video and “made incriminating statements about the attack.” In federal court on Wednesday, Reed repeatedly disrupted the hearing, shouting, “I plead guilty!” while insisting he wanted to represent himself and at one point claiming he was a Chinese citizen, according to local reporters.

Prosecutors say Reed committed the assault “with the intent to cause death and serious bodily injury” on a public transit system, a charge that carries a potential life sentence. Federal documents also note that during an argument with the victim on the train, Reed allegedly yelled, “burn alive, b****!” before lighting her on fire.

Reed’s extensive arrest history has raised questions about how he remained free. For now, it is unclear whether state charges will follow.

The attack drew comparisons to the recent fatal stabbing on a commuter train in Charlotte, where federal prosecutors charged a man with killing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. Among those who making a connections was U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

A criminal on a Chicago L set a 26-year-old woman on fire, and now she is in the hospital with severe burns.

This horrific attack is EXACTLY why we need communities to take safety seriously. Blue cities cannot allow another Iryna Zarutska to happen.

My mission is to make… https://t.co/KO7DT3X8mK
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 19, 2025

The Chicago Transit Authority said it is cooperating fully with investigators and emphasized that its security strategy includes surveillance cameras throughout the system.