A young woman is fighting for her life in a Chicago hospital after a horrifying attack on the city's subway system, where a man doused her in a flammable liquid and set her on fire.
A Terrifying Escalation on the Tracks
The incident occurred on the evening of Monday, 8 July 2024, at approximately 9:25 pm. The victim, a 26-year-old woman, was travelling on a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Blue Line train near the Clark/Lake station when she became involved in a verbal dispute with a man believed to be around 45 years old.
According to Chicago police, the argument quickly turned physical. In a deeply disturbing escalation, the assailant produced an unknown fluid, which he poured over the woman's body before igniting it.
Chaos and a Critical Condition
The train was brought to a stop, and the suspect immediately fled the scene, evading capture. The burning woman managed to stumble out of the carriage and collapsed onto the ground. Bystanders and first responders acted quickly to extinguish the flames before police arrived at the location.
The victim was rushed to Stroger Hospital for emergency treatment. She is currently being treated for severe burns and remains in a critical condition.
Witnesses described a scene of chaos and distress. One individual told Fox 32, "Just seeing her lying on the ground and she was kind of hyperventilating and in a lot of pain. You could tell she was in really bad shape." Another witness recounted to NBC Chicago, "I just saw a lady that was laying on the ground, and they were trying to give her CPR. And she looked like she was in an awful lot of pain."
Investigation Underway and Service Resumes
Train services on the Blue Line were severely disrupted following the attack but resumed normal operations by approximately 1:30 am on Tuesday morning.
An active investigation is now underway as authorities work to identify and locate the suspect, who remains at large. This shocking event has drawn grim parallels to a similar tragedy in New York City late last year, where a 57-year-old unhoused woman, Debrina Kawam, was killed after being set on fire in a subway car. The suspect in that case, 33-year-old Sebastián Zapeta, was charged with murder and arson.
The attack has raised urgent questions about public transport safety and the vulnerability of passengers on city rail networks.
