A Chicago woman was critically injured after being set on fire on a night CTA train
TOI GLOBAL DESK | TOI GLOBAL | Nov 19, 2025, 00:41 IST
By the time the firefighters reached the scene, a young lady was badly burnt in an attack that saw a man douse her with a highly flammable liquid and set her ablaze on a Chicago CTA Blue Line train, which lead to a massive emergency response and police pursuit of the criminal.
TL;DR
Just there on the Chicago Blue Line train, during an altercation and escape by the suspect, a woman was set on fire and very badly injured. The police are conducting detective work on the case, and they are locating evidence through camera footage.
A fire attack on a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train late Monday night has turned a 26-year-old woman's condition critical, local authorities said. Police said that while the train was arriving at the Clark and Lake station in the Loop, a man flinging an unidentified liquid at the woman and then setting her on fire. According to the Chicago Police Department, the stabbing was a little after 9:25 p.m.
The police talked about a female who disengaged from the fire at the station platform and fled to safety. The police say that the offender is a man of about 45 years who, after the event, had left the place according to a witness and therefore has not been caught yet.
Chicago Fire Department sent a fire rescue team which detached the woman from the fire, and an ambulance transported her to Stroger Hospital. After a further check, it was determined that the woman had suffered severe burns to her face and body. The hospital medical team also reported that she remains in a very critical condition.
A witness who spoke with Fox 32 said that the aftermath was a total mess and very heartbreaking as well. “The only thing I can remember is that she was lying on the floor and she was kind of breathing heavily and crying out in pain. One could easily see that she was in a terrible state,” the witness said. Another witness told NBC 5 that they had seen the medics performing CPR and stated that the victim appeared to be in a severely injured state.
The police have concluded that the staff at the scene of the crime have overheard a heated verbal argument between the assailant and the victim that eventually led the suspect to set the liquid ablaze. Law enforcement officers are currently reviewing security footage from the train and the station and are also looking at videos that people have uploaded from the scene of the crime to help them gather evidence.
The CTA Blue Line was out of service due to the event for several hours, during which time the workers performing the emergency at the scene were able to help the victim and secure the area. According to the CTA, work had returned to normal at around 1:30 a.m.
In its statement Chicago Police Department said, that detectives are vigorously and thoroughly following up leads and that they thus would like anyone with information to come forward. Besides, the police are emphasizing that finding the reason behind the crime is their primary concern.
The Independent sought to elicit more comments from the Chicago Police Department about the detectives' efforts in the investigation, there were no other details available at that time.
FAQs
Just there on the Chicago Blue Line train, during an altercation and escape by the suspect, a woman was set on fire and very badly injured. The police are conducting detective work on the case, and they are locating evidence through camera footage.
A fire attack on a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train late Monday night has turned a 26-year-old woman's condition critical, local authorities said. Police said that while the train was arriving at the Clark and Lake station in the Loop, a man flinging an unidentified liquid at the woman and then setting her on fire. According to the Chicago Police Department, the stabbing was a little after 9:25 p.m.
The police talked about a female who disengaged from the fire at the station platform and fled to safety. The police say that the offender is a man of about 45 years who, after the event, had left the place according to a witness and therefore has not been caught yet.
Chicago Fire Department sent a fire rescue team which detached the woman from the fire, and an ambulance transported her to Stroger Hospital. After a further check, it was determined that the woman had suffered severe burns to her face and body. The hospital medical team also reported that she remains in a very critical condition.
A witness who spoke with Fox 32 said that the aftermath was a total mess and very heartbreaking as well. “The only thing I can remember is that she was lying on the floor and she was kind of breathing heavily and crying out in pain. One could easily see that she was in a terrible state,” the witness said. Another witness told NBC 5 that they had seen the medics performing CPR and stated that the victim appeared to be in a severely injured state.
The police have concluded that the staff at the scene of the crime have overheard a heated verbal argument between the assailant and the victim that eventually led the suspect to set the liquid ablaze. Law enforcement officers are currently reviewing security footage from the train and the station and are also looking at videos that people have uploaded from the scene of the crime to help them gather evidence.
The CTA Blue Line was out of service due to the event for several hours, during which time the workers performing the emergency at the scene were able to help the victim and secure the area. According to the CTA, work had returned to normal at around 1:30 a.m.
In its statement Chicago Police Department said, that detectives are vigorously and thoroughly following up leads and that they thus would like anyone with information to come forward. Besides, the police are emphasizing that finding the reason behind the crime is their primary concern.
The Independent sought to elicit more comments from the Chicago Police Department about the detectives' efforts in the investigation, there were no other details available at that time.
FAQs
- Has the suspect been arrested?
No, the suspect is still free. - What are the police doing now?
The police are going through the footage from the cameras and talking to people. They also are giving a message to the people that they need their help. - Were metra trains affected?
The Blue Line was out of service for a while and the service was only back at around 1:30 a.m.