Police say that Lawrence Reed, accused of allegedly setting a woman on fire aboard a CTA train, has been arrested 72 times since he turned 18.
Lawrence Reed, 50, was charged in a federal criminal complaint with committing a terrorist attack or other violence on a mass transportation system.
U.S. Attorney Press Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago Charges Man with Federal Terrorism Offense for Allegedly Setting Passenger on Fire on Chicago Train
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois
CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago today charged a man with a federal terrorism offense for allegedly setting a passenger on fire on a Chicago Transit Authority train earlier this week.
LAWRENCE REED, 50, of Chicago is charged with committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system. The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Reed is scheduled to make an initial court appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally in federal court in Chicago.
According to a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Reed and the victim were passengers on a CTA train traveling through a subway in downtown Chicago at approximately 9:00 p.m. on Nov. 17, 2025. Reed approached the victim, who was seated with her back towards him, took the cap off a bottle of liquid and poured the liquid all over the victim’s head and body, the complaint states. The victim ran but Reed caught up with her, at which point he ignited the bottle and it fell out of his hand onto the floor, the complaint states. Reed picked up the bottle that was now on fire, approached the victim and used the bottle to light her on fire, the complaint states.
The victim was engulfed in flames but was able to depart the train. She remains hospitalized with critical injuries.
The investigation revealed that Reed had purchased gasoline at a Chicago gas station and had filled it into a handheld container approximately 20 minutes before the incident on the train, the complaint states.
Reed was arrested by Chicago Police officers on Nov. 18, 2025, in Chicago. He was taken into federal custody today.
The complaint and arrest were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Transit Authority. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron R. Bond and Ronald L. DeWald.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, will take immediate and resolute action to bring swift justice to the victim while safeguarding the public as well as the fabric of our society.”
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.