WARNING: This article includes graphic descriptions of allegations of violence.
The man accused of setting a woman on fire on a Chicago train earlier this week is facing a federal terrorism charge, according to a criminal complaint.
The 50-year-old man has lived in the Chicago area for several years and was charged with one count of committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation system on Wednesday in the Northern District of Illinois, in connection with the attack, the filing says.
The incident occurred at around 9:25 p.m. on Monday on the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line.
Security footage shows the moment a man carrying a clear bottle approached a 26-year-old woman sitting with her back to him.
The man is then seen removing the lid and pouring a liquid from the bottle over the victim’s head and body before attempting to ignite the liquid, the affidavit says.
The victim fought the man off and ran towards the front of the train. The man in the video then lit the bottle, which contained remnants of the liquid he had poured over the victim, and momentarily dropped the bottle on the floor. The victim then ran to the back of the train car.
According to surveillance footage from the train car, the suspect collected the burning bottle and approached the victim, setting her on fire with it and running toward the front of the train.
The man then allegedly watched as the victim was engulfed in flames, the affidavit says, adding that the victim attempted to extinguish the blaze by rolling around on the floor of the train.
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The train stopped at the Clark and Lake Street Blue Line station while the victim was still on fire, but she was able to exit before collapsing on the platform. Two good Samaritans helped to extinguish the flames, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said in a press conference on Wednesday. At the same time, the suspect exited and walked away, according to the affidavit.
About 20 minutes before the attack, the court affidavit filed on Wednesday states the man now facing charges was seen on surveillance footage visiting a petrol station.
Video from the gas station allegedly shows the man entering the attached convenience store and appearing to pay for gas before filling a small container. He then walked three miles, about five kilometres, toward the CTA Blue Line train, at 530 S. Kedzie Avenue, according to the affidavit.
The man was arrested in Chicago at about 11:30 am on Tuesday, still wearing the same clothes from the train incident that occurred over 12 hours earlier. During his arrest, police reportedly observed fire-related injuries on his right hand.
According to the affidavit and body camera footage, while in transit to the Chicago Police Department’s Area 4 Detective Division, the man uttered unprompted phrases, yelling, “Burn bi—” and “Burn alive bi—.”
On the train where the incident occurred, police located “a partially melted bottle, a lighter, a clear suspected ignitable liquid” from a seat where the victim had been, along with the burned remnants of what police believe to be some of the victim’s clothing.
The man facing charges appeared in federal court on Wednesday.
It was initially reported that there had been a verbal altercation between the suspect and the victim. But Boutros told reporters that the woman was “minding her own business and reading her phone” when she was attacked, unprovoked.
She remains in critical condition, Boutros added.
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