Man faces terrorism charge for allegedly setting woman on fire on Chicago L train: DOJ

A man has been charged with terrorism for allegedly pouring flammable liquid on a woman and setting her on fire on a Chicago L train earlier this week in an "unprovoked" attack, federal officials said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Wednesday it has taken the suspect, Lawrence Reed, into federal custody in connection with the attack, which left the victim in critical condition.

Reed, 50, of Chicago, has been charged with committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois said.

"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," U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros said in a statement.  

The arson attack occurred Monday night near the Clark and Lake station on a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train, authorities said.

CTA surveillance footage captured the attack, according to the federal criminal complaint.

"The surveillance video is difficult to watch," Boutros said during a press briefing Wednesday, noting that the woman had been on her phone prior to the attack "minding her own business."

The footage showed Reed and the victim, who was not identified, were traveling in the same train car when, at approximately 9:24 p.m., the suspect moved from the back of the train while holding a bottle and approached the victim, who was seated with her back toward Reed in the middle of the car, according to the complaint.

"Reed then took the cap off the bottle and poured a liquid from the bottle all over the victim's head and body," the complaint stated.

The suspect allegedly tried to ignite the liquid, though the victim fought him off and ran toward the front of the train, according to the complaint. Reed then allegedly lit the bottle, dropped it, then picked up the now flaming bottle and used it to set the victim on fire, according to the complaint.

"Reed then ran to the front of the train car and stood watching Victim A as her body was engulfed in flames," the complaint stated.

The victim, who was almost fully engulfed in flames, tried to extinguish herself by rolling on the ground of the train car, then exited the train while still on fire when it stopped at the Clark and Lake Street Blue Line platform, according to the complaint.

Two good Samaritans helped put out the flames on the platform, according to Boutros.

Reed was observed on the footage leaving the car and walking away, according to the complaint.

Police said the victim, a 26-year-old woman, was transported to a local hospital in critical condition with severe burns. She remains hospitalized with critical injuries, prosecutors said Wednesday.

A partially melted bottle and lighter were recovered from the train car, along with suspected ignitable liquid from the victim's seat and "the burned remains of what appeared to be some of Victim A's clothing," the complaint stated.

Authorities found additional surveillance footage that showed Reed at a gas station 20 minutes prior to the attack filling a bottle at a gas pump, according to the complaint. He was wearing the same clothes as seen in the train car footage, according to the complaint.

Chicago police took Reed into custody on Tuesday, at which time he was still wearing the same clothes as seen in the footage of the attack and had "fire-related injuries to his right hand," according to the complaint.

While being transported, according to the complaint, he allegedly made "repeated spontaneous and unprompted utterances, specifically yelling, 'burn b----' and 'burn alive b----.'"

Chris Amon, special agent in charge for the ATF's Chicago Field Office, said the "horrific act of violence" was unprovoked.

Boutros, the prosecutors, also disputed an initial police statement on the incident that stated that the victim and assailant had gotten into a "verbal altercation" prior to the arson attack.

"Those statements are inaccurate and false. She was on her phone," he said.

Reed is scheduled to appear in Chicago federal court on Friday for a detention hearing, at which point the government plans to detail the suspect's criminal history, Boutros said, though he didn't go into detail.

"Lawrence Reed had no business being on the streets, given that his violent criminal history and his pending criminal cases," Amon said during the press briefing. "Reed had plenty of second chances by the criminal justice system, and as a result, you have an innocent victim in the hospital fighting for her life."

If convicted, the charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.