The 26-year-old victim who was doused in flames by a lunatic with a lengthy rap sheet on a Chicago L train earlier this month has been identified as Bethany MaGee, according to police. "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," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on social media Sunday.
"This would never have happened if this thug had been behind bars. Yet Chicago lets repeat offenders roam the streets," Duffy said, speaking about 50-year-old Lawrence Reed, who is now facing federal terrorism charges for the violent and unprovoked attack.
Killed Without a Reason
"Chicago's carelessness is putting the American people at risk. No one should ever have to fear for their life on the subway," Duffy said, slamming the Windy City's soft-on-crime policies that let a dangerous convicted felon roam free.
MaGee was sitting on a Chicago L train with her back to Reed around 9 p.m. on Nov. 17 when he suddenly approached her, according to the criminal complaint.
Reed reportedly uncapped a bottle filled with liquid and dumped it over her head and body. Terrified, MaGee tried to escape, but Reed caught up with her. He then lit the bottle on fire, and although it dropped to the floor, he picked it up again and used it to set her on fire.
Engulfed in flames, MaGee somehow managed to flee the train and stumble onto the platform, where she collapsed. Good Samaritans rushed to her aid, and she was taken to the hospital in critical condition, the complaint says.
Investigators later found surveillance footage showing Reed at a Chicago gas station about 20 minutes before the attack, filling a plastic drink bottle with gasoline. He was arrested the next day and charged with federal terrorism — a charge that could make him eligible for the death penalty if he's found guilty.
Officials revealed that Reed has a staggering criminal history: 22 arrests since 2016, and a total of 53 cases in Cook County going back to 1993. He has pleaded guilty in nine felony cases.
However, he has only been locked up twice, serving just two and a half years in total, according to CWB Chicago.
No Escaping This Time
Court documents seen by the outlet reveal that Reed had been released in August with an ankle monitor after he attacked a social worker at the psychiatric hospital where he was being treated.
The assault knocked her unconscious and caused what doctors believe to be optic nerve damage, along with a concussion that now leaves her dealing with memory loss, headaches, and constant nausea, according to a detention request cited by the outlet.
Although prosecutors insisted he should remain behind bars, a judge disagreed, allowing him to walk free for most of the week.
At a hearing this past Friday, prosecutors again urged the court to keep Reed in custody, warning that he "presents a clear danger and persistent threat of terror to the community," ABC News reported.
"The state court system has been unable to contain defendant's violent crimes, and federal intervention is now needed," US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros wrote in the government's detention motion.
"Lawrence Reed had no business being on the streets given his violent criminal history and his pending criminal cases," ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Amon said at a press conference following Friday's hearing.
"Reed had plenty of second chances by the criminal justice system and as a result you have an innocent victim in the hospital fighting for her life."
Reed is currently being held at Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center, according to court documents.
His disturbing behavior was evident during his first court appearance on Wednesday. Prosecutors said he constantly disrupted the hearing by "singing, babbling, and instructing the Court not to speak to him."
At one point, he repeatedly shouted, "I plead guilty!" while the judge was still trying to explain his rights. Local reports also say he kept yelling that he was a Chinese citizen and demanded to defend himself in court, talking over the judge throughout the proceeding.
The shocking attack on the CTA is being compared to another horrifying case from September, when 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on a Blue Line train in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was simply riding the train when she was brutally killed on camera.
Her accused killer, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., is a diagnosed schizophrenic with almost two decades of documented violence and severe mental health issues. Yet he was walking free under a no-cash bail system. A magistrate released him on nothing more than a promise that he would return to court.
