❓WHAT HAPPENED: A 26-year-old woman was set on fire while riding a Chicago CTA Blue Line train, leaving her in critical condition.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The victim, an unnamed 26-year-old woman, and a suspect believed to be a 45-year-old man who fled the scene.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The attack occurred at 9:25 PM on the CTA Blue Line as the train approached the Clark and Lake stop in Chicago’s Loop.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Just seeing her lying on the ground and she was kind of hyperventilating and in a lot of pain,” a witness said, adding: “You could tell she was in really bad shape.”
🎯IMPACT: The victim remains hospitalized with severe burns, and police are searching for the suspect. The motive remains unclear.
A woman is fighting for her life after being set on fire aboard a Chicago CTA Blue Line train last night. The incident, involving a 26-year-old woman and a 45-year-old male assailant, occurred after 9:00 PM on Monday evening as the train approached the Clark and Lake stop in the Loop area, according to the Chicago Police Department (CPD).
The victim was doused in an unknown liquid before being set alight. She managed to stumble onto the platform, where bystanders extinguished the flames. The woman was rushed to Chicago’s Stronger Hospital with severe burns to her body and face and remains in critical condition.
Witnesses described the scene as harrowing. “Just seeing her lying on the ground and she was kind of hyperventilating and in a lot of pain,” one witness said. Another stated, “I saw a lady that was laying on the ground, and they were trying to give her CPR.” Both stressed the victim’s dire condition.
The suspect, described only as a 45-year-old man, fled the scene and remains at large. Police believe a verbal altercation between the victim and the suspect preceded the attack. Video footage of the incident has surfaced online, and the CTA Blue Line was halted, resuming operations at 1:30 AM.
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