A routine Monday evening commute on Chicago’s Blue Line descended into a nightmare earlier this month, leaving a 26-year-old woman with catastrophic injuries and shining a harsh spotlight on the city’s struggle with repeat offenders. The victim, identified as Bethany MaGee, was brutally set on fire during a dispute aboard a train, a horrific, unprovoked attack that has rocked the city and ignited a furious debate about the justice system.
The sheer horror of the event, which unfolded near the Clark and Lake station around 9:25 p.m., is almost unimaginable. Witnesses described a terrifying scene where the train car was instantly transformed into a trap. Surveillance footage later revealed that the assailant, 50-year-old Lawrence Reed, approached MaGee—who was simply seated with her back to him—and without warning, doused her head and body with a liquid, later confirmed to be gasoline he purchased minutes earlier. Though the initial attempt to ignite the fuel failed as MaGee fought back and ran, Reed reportedly caught her, picked up the burning container he dropped, and used it to set the young woman ablaze.
The aftermath was a scene of utter devastation. As the train pulled to a stop, the attacker fled. Bethany staggered out of the car, collapsing onto the platform with severe burns covering her body. “Just seeing her lying on the ground, and she was kind of hyperventilating and in a lot of pain,” one horrified witness told local news, noting the massive turnout of first responders. Rushed to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, MaGee’s fight for her life has become a symbol of the dangers too many Chicagoans feel they face on their public transit.
This terrifying act didn’t just injure a young woman; it exposed a deeply flawed justice system. Officials were quick to lay the blame squarely on “soft-on-crime” policies, pointing to the accused’s staggering criminal history. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took to social media, expressing his outrage that Lawrence Reed was free to commit such a heinous crime. Duffy pointed out that Reed is a career criminal with a shocking 72 prior arrests spanning over 30 years, including multiple felony convictions and a history of violent behavior, even an earlier arson attempt on a government building.
The public’s fury only mounted with the revelation that Reed was actually on court-ordered electronic monitoring for an unrelated aggravated battery charge at the time of the Blue Line attack. This detail cemented the argument from high-ranking officials like Secretary Duffy: “This would never have happened if this thug had been behind bars,” he stated, arguing that the system “failed MaGee by allowing a dangerous individual to remain in the public sphere.” The criticism was a direct lambasting of the city’s approach, with Duffy adding that Chicago’s “carelessness is putting the American people at risk.”
In a move that underscores the gravity of the offense, federal prosecutors have since charged Lawrence Reed with a federal terrorism offense for allegedly committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in federal prison, and prosecutors have even indicated that if Bethany MaGee succumbs to her injuries, Reed could be eligible for the death penalty. During a recent detention hearing, Reed—who surprisingly insisted on representing himself—agreed to be detained, stating, “It’s for my own safety… I don’t feel safe out there.”
As Bethany MaGee continues her painful, arduous fight for survival and recovery, the conversation in Chicago has shifted from a mere crime report to a city-wide reckoning. This brutal act has ignited an intense, necessary debate about public safety, the transit system’s security, and the alarming failure of the justice system to keep undeniably dangerous, repeat offenders off the streets. For countless commuters, the image of a routine ride turning into an inferno will remain a grim reminder of a young woman who paid a devastating price for the system’s failures.
