❓WHAT HAPPENED: A woman was doused in gasoline and set alight by a serial offender while riding Chicago’s Blue Line metro service.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Victim Bethany MaGee, 26, and suspect Lawrence Reed, 50, who has 72 prior arrests.
📍WHEN & WHERE: November 17 on Chicago’s Blue Line metro service.
💬KEY QUOTE: “This tragic crime should have never happened and it sadly highlights the dangers of Democrat control.” – White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson.
🎯IMPACT: The attack has reignited debates over crime policy and judicial laxity when dealing with violent criminals, with federal terrorism charges filed against Reed.
The woman who was doused with gasoline and set on fire while traveling on Chicago‘s Blue Line metro train on November 17 and her alleged attacker have been identified. Bethany MaGee, a 26-year-old business research analyst at Caterpillar, suffered burns to 60 percent of her body after being attacked by Lawrence Reed, 50, a repeat offender with 72 prior arrests. Reed was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the attack, having been released by a judge following an August assault on a social worker.
Reed allegedly approached Ms. MaGee while she was using her mobile phone, poured gasoline over her, and ignited the liquid while shouting, “burn alive b***h,” according to a criminal affidavit. Ms. MaGee managed to escape the train and collapsed at Clark and Lake station. Her recovery is expected to take at least three months. Witnesses removed their coats to extinguish the flames and comforted her until paramedics arrived.
Reed, who has a criminal history spanning three decades, faces federal terrorism charges. Prosecutors had previously warned Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez about Reed’s violent tendencies during an August court appearance. Despite these warnings, Judge Molina-Gonzalez released him, stating, “I can’t keep everybody in jail because the state’s attorney wants me to.”
U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy publicly identified Ms. MaGee on Sunday, condemning the attack and highlighting the suspect’s extensive criminal record. “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,” Duffy wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The attack has prompted the Trump White House to consider deploying National Guard troops to the city.
The attack has drawn comparisons to the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail service in August, allegedly by Decarlos Brown Jr., who said “I got that white girl” after fatally stabbing her. White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement, “This tragic crime should have never happened, and it sadly highlights the dangers of Democrat control.”
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