Terror Charge Filed in Horrific Chicago Train Attack

A man accused of setting a woman on fire aboard a Blue Line L train in downtown Chicago on Monday is facing a federal terrorism charge. Prosecutors say Lawrence Reed, 50, doused the victim with gasoline and set her alight in a shocking attack captured on surveillance video. Initial reports said the attack happened during a verbal dispute, but video obtained by police tells a different story. The footage shows Reed, initially seated at the back of the train car, approaching the woman from behind, pouring a liquid over her, and attempting to ignite it, CBS News reports.

The victim initially fought Reed off and fled to the front of the train, but Reed chased her, dropped the bottle while doing so, then picked it up and used the flaming bottle to ignite the woman, who had run to the back of the train, according to an affidavit. He watched as her body was engulfed in flames. The woman, who tried to put out the fire by rolling on the floor of the train, exited the train still on fire at the Clark/Lake station, where she collapsed on the platform. Bystanders rushed to help.

"She was running off the train towards the middle of it, completely engulfed in fire," witness Christopher Flores tells CBS News. "I went over to see what's going on. … She's on the ground crying, burnt to a crisp." The 26-year-old woman was hospitalized in critical condition with burns to her face and body. Authorities say surveillance footage recorded prior to the attack showed Reed filling a small container with gasoline at a Citgo gas station. He was arrested a day after the attack, still wearing the same clothes and suffering from burns on his hand, according to authorities.

Police said Reed made incriminating statements about the attack after his arrest on Tuesday. The federal terrorism charge against Reed carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Prosecutors said he could face the death penalty if the woman dies. He carried out the attack "with the intent to cause death and serious bodily injury to one or more persons" an ATF investigator said. At a court appearance Wednesday afternoon, Reed repeatedly shouted "I plead guilty!" and claimed to be a citizen of China, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.