Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Feds Charge Lawrence Reed With Terrorism in CTA Blue Line Fire Attack

Prosecutors say surveillance shows a random, gasoline-fueled assault, with investigators reviewing a possible tie to a recent City Hall fire.

Overview

  • The 26-year-old victim remains in critical condition at Stroger Hospital after two bystanders extinguished the flames on the platform as other riders did not intervene, according to prosecutors.
  • Charging documents say Reed used gasoline, with video showing him filling a bottle near the 3300 block of West Harrison and boarding at Kedzie and Congress before approaching the woman unprovoked.
  • ATF agents took Reed, 50, into federal custody; he appeared in court Wednesday, with a detention hearing set for Friday and a court-ordered mental health evaluation after outbursts.
  • The federal count for a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation system carries a potential life sentence if he is convicted.
  • Detectives are reviewing surveillance for a possible connection between the train attack and a recent suspicious fire at City Hall, with the investigation ongoing.