Man who was arrested 49 times faces federal terrorism charges for allegedly setting woman on fire on Blue Line train in Chicago

Federal authorities have brought charges against a man accused of dousing a woman with gasoline and setting her on fire aboard a CTA Blue Line train in downtown Chicago earlier this week. On Wednesday, prosecutors filed a criminal complaint charging 50-year-old Lawrence Reed with committing a terrorist attack or other violent act on a mass transit system, elevating the case to a federal matter rather than a state prosecution.

According to U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros, the victim—a 26-year-old woman—had been sitting quietly, occupied with her phone, around 9 p.m. on Monday as she rode an O’Hare-bound Blue Line train. Without warning, Reed allegedly approached her and set her on fire. Boutros said surveillance footage of the incident is “extremely disturbing,” showing the woman being engulfed in flames while other riders either backed away or simply watched as she struggled for her life.

Investigators retrieved security video from CTA train car No. 3236, which captured the woman seated near the center of the car while Reed sat toward the rear. The footage appears to show Reed rising from his seat, carrying a bottle, and walking toward the woman, who had her back to him. He then poured what authorities say was gasoline all over her before attempting to ignite it. The victim ran toward the back of the train car, but Reed picked up the burning bottle, approached her again, and ignited her clothing, standing and watching as flames spread across her body.

The affidavit states that the woman, her body nearly fully ablaze, tried desperately to extinguish the flames by rolling on the train floor. Even when the train reached the Clark/Lake station, she was still on fire as she exited and collapsed on the platform. Witnesses described seeing her run from the train “completely engulfed in fire.” Good Samaritans attempted to help her once she fell to the ground.

An ATF agent who later documented the scene reported that the woman had severe burns over her face and much of her body. Sources indicated that more than half of her body was burned. Video obtained by CBS Chicago showed significant burns to her head. She was rushed to Stroger Hospital, where officials said she remained in critical condition as of late Wednesday.

Reed left the train at Clark/Lake as well and fled the scene. Investigators found a melted bottle, a lighter, traces of the ignitable substance, and the victim’s charred clothing inside the train car. Surveillance footage from a Citgo gas station on West Harrison Street taken about twenty minutes before the attack appears to show Reed dressed in the same clothing as during the assault. According to prosecutors, the video shows him paying a cashier, filling a small container with gasoline, and then boarding the Blue Line at Kedzie-Homan along the Eisenhower Expressway.

Reed was taken into custody around 11:29 a.m. on Tuesday at an address on West Washington Street. At the time of his arrest, he was still wearing the same clothes seen in the videos and had burns on his right hand. Chicago police initially arrested him, and by noon on Wednesday—exactly 24 hours later—ATF agents had assumed federal custody.

Following the attack, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson stated that the city would use state funding to help bolster transit safety, saying that ensuring the security of CTA riders remains a top priority.

Reed’s first court appearance took place Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Reed entered the courtroom in handcuffs and wearing a spit hood. Throughout the hearing, he repeatedly interrupted the proceedings, loudly declaring, “I am guilty, and I will be my own attorney!” The judge noted that the hearing was not for entering a plea but merely for confirming the basis of the charges. Reed also shouted “Don’t talk to me!” and attempted to drown out the judge by yelling “La, la, la.” He insisted that he did not want a lawyer and intended to represent himself. Judge McNally reminded him that he had the right to remain silent.

Prosecutors argued that Reed should remain detained pending trial, citing both risk to the public and potential flight concerns. They indicated the federal charges could result in a life sentence—and, if the victim dies, potentially the death penalty. Upon hearing that he was being accused of terrorism, Reed appeared confused, asking, “Terrorism? What is this all about?” He also claimed to be a citizen of China and asked the judge to notify the Chinese Consulate of his arrest.

Reed has an extensive criminal history. Records examined by CBS News Chicago show 49 prior arrests and 10 previous felony cases. Three of those cases were ultimately dropped, while six resulted in convictions, which included penalties from probation to a short jail term. A drug case from 2003 led to a two-year sentence in state prison. One of his active cases involved an aggravated battery incident from August, during which he allegedly struck a social worker at a psychiatric and behavioral health facility in Berwyn, causing the victim to lose consciousness and suffer lingering neurological symptoms. Prosecutors had requested that Reed be held until trial, but a judge placed him on electronic monitoring, and another judge later modified his monitoring conditions.

Despite being under electronic monitoring at the time of the incident, Reed still managed to carry out the attack on the CTA train. Legal analysts have noted that although Illinois law presumes release in many cases, judges can order detention when warranted—though this case has now moved into the federal system, where prosecutors have vowed to take a harder line on violence occurring on public transit.

Reed has also been linked to several other high-profile incidents. These include a 2020 fire outside the Thompson Center on a day Gov. JB Pritzker was scheduled to appear there, although that felony charge was eventually dismissed. Earlier that same year, he was suspected of assaulting four women near the Harold Washington Library. He is also believed to have started a fire outside Chicago’s City Hall the week prior to the train attack. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to breaking windows on a Blue Line train at O’Hare International Airport.

ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Chris Amon said that Reed “had no business being on the streets,” given his lengthy and violent criminal background and the several pending cases against him. Amon added that repeated leniency from the criminal justice system had left an innocent woman in the hospital fighting for her life—but that Reed would have no more “second chances” now that federal authorities were handling the case.

When contacted by CBS News Chicago, the Cook County Chief Judge’s office—which oversees electronic monitoring—declined to answer questions about whether Reed may have been in violation of monitoring requirements at the time of the assault, citing restrictions on commenting about active or potential litigation.

Source: CBS NEWS