Overview
- Officials identified the victim as 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, who remains hospitalized in critical condition with severe burns reported across roughly half her body.
- Prosecutors say 50-year-old Lawrence Reed is charged with violence against a mass transportation system, a federal count that can carry a life sentence, and a judge has ordered him held with mental and medical evaluations.
- Evidence cited in court includes surveillance video, photos showing Reed buying gasoline about 20 minutes before the assault, and his arrest the next day wearing matching clothing with burns on his hands.
- Records show Reed was on court-ordered electronic monitoring after an August aggravated battery case and had curfew violations in the days before the attack despite earlier prosecution requests for detention.
- A widely repeated claim that Reed had 72 prior arrests is disputed, with Chicago police records reflecting a lower in-state count, fueling broader debate over transit safety and criminal-justice policy.