Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged a man with terrorism for allegedly setting a woman on fire on a Chicago train.
Lawrence Reed was sitting at the back of a car on a Blue Line L train on Monday night when he approached a woman as she sat with her back to him, according to a federal investigator’s arrest affidavit. He removed the cap from a plastic bottle, then doused the woman with what was believed to be gasoline, the affidavit said.
The woman then ran to the back of the train car. Reed ignited the bottle, approached the woman and set her on fire, according to the affidavit.
Reed, 50, of Chicago, is charged with a federal count of committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation system.
When the train pulled into a stop downtown, Reed walked away and the woman stumbled out and fell on the ground, police said. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition with severe burns to her head and body, authorities said.
Federal court records do not show whether Reed has an attorney representing him in the federal case. Chicago outlets reported that Reed shouted and was disruptive during his first appearance in a federal court on Wednesday afternoon.
Margery A. Beck, The Associated Press
