26-Year-Old Woman Set on Fire on Chicago Train by Serial Offender with 72 Arrests

Months before the fire incident took place, a prosecutor had warned a judge not to release the serial offender because of his dangerous nature during a different case.

She never saw it coming — a quiet ride home turned into a nightmare when flames engulfed her body. And the man accused? A repeat offender who should've been behind bars.

Earlier this month (November 2025), a harrowing incident occurred on a busy Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train on a Monday night. A woman identified as 26-year-old Bethany MaGee was set alight by a 50-year-old man named Lawrence Reed, who now faces serious charges for his crime.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke out on the matter, expressing his outrage that the suspect had been allowed to walk freely despite his lengthy rap sheet.

Chaos Erupts on CTA Train in Chicago

According to authorities, the terrifying ordeal unfolded just after 9:25 p.m. on November 17 aboard a CTA Blue Line train traveling through Chicago's bustling Loop near Clark and Kale Streets. What began as a verbal spat between MaGee and Reed took a horrifying turn when the man escalated the argument into a physical confrontation.

Without warning, Reed allegedly doused MaGee in a flammable liquid before setting her on fire in front of stunned passengers. Surveillance footage and witness accounts captured the chaos that ensued. Flames engulfed MaGee as she fled in desperation.

Though she managed to escape the train and stumble onto the platform, she collapsed moments later — her body severely burned. Paramedics and firefighters rushed to the scene, where she was reportedly in such critical condition that CPR was being administered on-site before she was transported to a nearby hospital.

One witness described the woman's condition as "really bad." "She looked like she was in an awful lot of pain." The attack brought service to a grinding halt across multiple train lines, including the Blue, Pink, Brown, Orange, Green, and Purple Lines.

Emergency crews swarmed the Clark and Lake station, and train service did not resume until roughly 1:30 a.m.

He Bought the Gasoline Just 20 Minutes Before

Details later revealed in a criminal complaint painted an even more chilling portrait of the moments leading up to the attack. Reed had been seen on surveillance video at a nearby gas station just twenty minutes earlier, where he allegedly purchased gasoline and filled a plastic beverage bottle.

Onboard the train, he reportedly removed the bottle's cap and poured its contents directly over MaGee's head and body while her back was turned. When the bottle fell to the floor, Reed allegedly picked it up again and used it to ignite the flames.

The next day, authorities apprehended Reed and charged him with federal terrorism offenses, placing him at the center of a legal firestorm. If convicted, the charges could potentially lead to the death penalty.

Before There Was a Devastating Fire Incident, There Was a Warning of the Suspect's Dangerous Behavior

Taking to social media to denounce the brutal attack, U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy penned, "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."

He continued, "This would never have happened if this thug had been behind bars. Yet Chicago lets repeat offenders roam the streets."

In the government's detention motion, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Andrew Boutros, emphasized, "The state court system has been unable to contain defendant's [sic] violent crimes, and federal intervention is now needed."

Those failures became glaringly apparent upon the discovery of Reed's extensive criminal history. Records show he had been arrested 72 times, which includes 22 times since 2016, and his involvement in 53 separate criminal cases in Cook County since 1993.

Of those, at least nine were felony cases to which he had pleaded guilty. Despite this staggering rap sheet, Reed had only served time twice, spending only two and a half years in jail in total.

Even more troubling is the fact that just three months earlier, in August, Reed had been released with an electronic ankle monitor after a violent assault on a social worker inside MacNeal Hospital's psychiatric wing, where he had been committed. That victim reportedly suffered a concussion, possible optic nerve damage, and ongoing memory and nausea issues.

Though prosecutors strongly urged the court to keep him detained, Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez ordered his release — an act that, in hindsight, proved tragically consequential. "I can't keep everybody in jail because the State's Attorney wants me to," she stated — a remark that now resonates with painful irony.

Prosecutor Jerrilyn Gumila had warned the court that electronic monitoring "could not protect the victim or the community from another vicious, random, and spontaneous attack." Gumila described how Reed, without provocation, slapped the hospital worker unconscious.

Despite a court officer's testimony that Reed posed a high risk of violent reoffending, Molina-Gonzalez released him with an ankle monitor. Though she imposed the "highest level" of monitoring, she quietly expanded his freedom, granting Reed 40 hours per week to be out in public — more than double the standard 16 hours allowed under state law.

Just weeks later, Judge Ralph Meczyk widened those privileges further at the request of Reed's transitional housing program, allowing him additional time for church activities.

Those expanded hours would give Reed the freedom he needed to board the train on November 17 — and ultimately carry out an act prosecutors had chillingly predicted. At his initial court appearance following the attack on MaGee, Reed displayed erratic and unsettling behavior.

According to courtroom observers and officials, he disrupted proceedings by singing, babbling, and repeatedly interrupting the judge with outbursts such as, "I plead guilty!" He also made bizarre claims of being a Chinese citizen and insisted on representing himself.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Amon voiced the frustration shared by many in law enforcement, "Reed had plenty of second chances by the criminal justice system and [sic] as a result, you have an innocent victim in the hospital fighting for her life." As of now, Reed is behind bars at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago and will remain so as he awaits further proceedings.

Among Reed's lengthy list of prior convictions, one incident stands out for its disturbing similarities to the recent train attack. In 2020, he was convicted of arson after setting fire to a government building in downtown Chicago.

His record also includes convictions for criminal damage to government property and drug possession, bringing his total number of convictions to approximately 15, according to court filings. While Reed's criminal history paints a troubling picture of systemic failure, the contrast with his victim could not be starker.

A Stark Contrast: Victim Described as Kind, Brilliant, and Gentle

MaGee, the young woman now clinging to life, is dubbed by those who know her as a deeply kind and gifted individual. "She [is] incredibly smart. Very soft-spoken, very gentle," recalled a former high school classmate who described MaGee as an avid reader and honors student during their school days in Indiana.

MaGee hails from the quiet town of Upland, a Christian enclave of fewer than 4,000 residents and home to Taylor University. Her upbringing, according to neighbors, is rooted in faith and family. "They're a wonderful family… About as loving as you can be," said one local, who also noted the family's request for privacy as they endure the unimaginable.

"We just know they are going through a hard time, so we are praying for them," another local added. The devastating contrast between Reed's history of violence and MaGee's gentle nature has only deepened the heartbreak felt across her community — and intensified calls for accountability in a system that allowed this tragedy to happen.