A woman is in hospital in critical condition after being set on fire while riding the Chicago transit system, according to police.
At around 9:25 p.m. on Monday, a 26-year-old woman was on a subway train on the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line when she got into a verbal altercation with a male passenger believed to be about 45 years old.
The argument escalated into a physical fight, and the man then allegedly doused the woman in an unknown liquid before setting her body alight, said police in a statement.
The train stopped, and the suspect fled the scene. The woman stumbled off the train and fell to the ground, police said. The flames had been put out before authorities arrived on the scene. She had severe injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she is still listed in critical condition.
A person of interest was later taken into custody, police said. Global News has reached out to the Chicago Police Department for any further information.
According to Fox32 Chicago, the woman appeared severely burned with injuries to her face and body. An eyewitness told the outlet he saw her lying on the ground, hyperventilating and in a lot of pain. “She was really in bad shape,” he said.
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The attack also highlighted growing concerns among regular transit users over an uptick in violence on the city’s public transport system, which, according to a report released by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in October, is at a 10-year high. Still, arrests, which happen less frequently in violent crimes, fell, it says.
Police data showed riders reported 2,893 crimes at CTA stations and platforms between Aug. 1, 2024, and July 30, 2025. Riders also saw the second-highest number of violent crimes since 2015 and nearly double the number reported a decade ago, according to the report.
Regular CTA rider Alex Butler told Fox32 the fire incident has raised alarm bells for him.
“It was concerning. I take public transit to work, but concerning to think somebody had lighter fluid on them to douse and light them on fire,” he said.
Following the incident, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy wrote that it was his mission to “make public transit safe again!”
“This horrific attack is EXACTLY why we need communities to take safety seriously. Blue cities cannot allow another Iryna Zarutska to happen.”
Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail train in August. Her killing became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s efforts to clamp down on crime in major, mostly Democratic cities.
Another witness to the Chicago incident told NBC Chicago, “I just saw a lady who was lying on the ground, and they were trying to give her CPR,” they said. “And she looked like she was in an awful lot of pain.”
Train service on the Blue Line resumed at about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Chicago-based outlet reported.
Monday’s attack follows a similar incident on a New York City subway last December, when a woman was set on fire inside a train car. After she was engulfed in flames, the suspect watched the woman die, police said.
The victim was identified as Debrina Kawam. She was unhoused and sleeping on the train when she was attacked by 33-year-old Sebastián Zapeta, who was later charged with murder and arson.
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