A judge ordered Lawrence Reed, 50, to remain in custody until his trial after he allegedly poured gasoline and set a fire on a young girl on a Chicago train.
Reed faces terrorism charges.
Reed should never have been out of prison. He’s been arrested 72 times and convicted 15 times.
The attack happened on November 17. Surveillance video helped identify Reed:
According to surveillance footage from train car #3236, REED stood up from his seat while holding a bottle, walked through the car and approached Victim A, who was seated with her back towards REED. Reed then took the cap off the bottle and poured a liquid from the bottle all over the victim’s head and body. REED then attempted to ignite the liquid. Victim A fought off REED and ran to the front of the train as REED chased Victim A. REED then ignited the bottle in his hand that contained remnants of the liquid that he had poured on Victim A and the bottle fell out of REED’s hand and onto the floor as Victim A then ran to the rear of the train car. Screen captures of the above-described actions appear below:
According to surveillance footage from train car #3236, REED then picked up the bottle that was now on fire, approached Victim A, and lit Victim A on fire using the bottle. REED then ran to the front of the train car and stood watching Victim A as her body was engulfed in flames. Victim A appears below on the far left underneath the train car number “3236” while REED appears on the right holding the flaming bottle.According to surveillance footage from train car #3236, Victim A, who was almost fully engulfed in flames, attempted to extinguish herself by rolling on the ground of the train car. The train then stopped at the Clark and Lake Street Blue Line platform and Victim A while still on fire, was able to exit the train before collapsing on the train platform, where she was tended to by individuals on the platform. At the same time, REED exited the train car and walked away from the scene.
Thank goodness the victim escaped, and two people helped her out on the platform.
Officials “collected a partially melted bottle, a lighter, a clear suspected ignitable liquid from a passenger seat from where Victim A had been seated, and the burned remains of what appeared to be some of Victim A’s clothing.”
Again, Reed should not have been on the street:
Records show that Reed had previously been arrested 72 times in Cook County alone and convicted in 15 of those cases, the feds said in court papers.One of those busts included an aggravated arson charge, in which he was accused of dousing the city’s Thompson Center government building with liquid and setting it on fire just as Gov. J.B. Pritzker was due to speak at a press conference, cops said.But the maniac never served any time and was only given probation despite being convicted of the arson incident in April 2020, court documents show.At the time of this week’s fiery horror, Reed was out on electronic home monitoring stemming from an alleged incident where he knocked a hospital social worker unconscious in August.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasted Chicago:
It is devastating that a career criminal with 72 PRIOR ARRESTS is now accused of attacking 26-year-old Bethany MaGee on Chicago’s L train, and setting her on fire.This would never have happened if this thug had been behind bars. Yet Chicago lets repeat offenders roam the streets.Chicago’s carelessness is putting the American people at risk. No one should ever have to fear for their life on the subway.
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