Man Who Set CTA Rider On Fire Also Involved In Chicago City Hall Arson: Prosecutors

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury indicted a man on terrorism and arson charges for reportedly lighting a passenger on fire on a Chicago Transit Authority train and setting Chicago's city hall ablaze three days earlier. The indictment was returned on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Lawrence Reed, 50, of Chicago, was charged last month with committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system, an offense punishable with up to life in prison. On Nov. 17, police said Reed approached a woman aboard a CTA train, ignited a bottle containing a liquid substance, and used it to light the victim on fire. The 26-year-old victim was engulfed in flames, but was able to depart the train. She remains hospitalized with critical injuries.

For the first time, the indictment charges Reed with arson for allegedly setting a fire to Chicago City Hall on Nov. 14. Prosecutors accuse Reed of maliciously damaging and attempting to destroy the building, which is located at 121 N. LaSalle St. in downtown Chicago.

RELATED: Man Charged With Terrorism For Setting Woman Ablaze On CTA Train — Authorities

Reed remains detained in federal custody without bond. Arraignment is scheduled for Friday, according to the feds.

"This horrific attack was not just a barbaric assault on an innocent woman riding a train, but an act of terrorism that strikes at the core of our American way of life," U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said last month.

The incident on the CTA train is the latest in a series of violent acts occurring on the transportation system. Earlier this week, Jada Beatty, 26, of Chicago, was charged after attacking multiple people with a glass bottle on a CTA train in downtown Chicago. Beatty was charged with four counts of aggravated battery in a public place, two counts of aggravated battery of a transit employee or passenger, and two counts of aggravated battery of a victim over the age of 60.

Beatty was arrested around 11 a.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of North Wabash Avenue, about an hour after she hit two women, ages 19 and 32, on a Red Line train in the 100 block of North State Street, before battering a 66-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman outside the train, according to police.

WGN News is reporting a man is recovering in the hospital Friday morning after he set himself on fire at a CTA stop on the city's West Side. Officials said it is unclear if the incident was intentional.

RELATED: Woman Attacked CTA Riders With Glass Bottle In Downtown Chicago — Police