A 19-year-old tourist was speaking out on Monday, days after she was attacked on the CTA Red Line in the Loop.

Police said she was one of four people who 26-year-old Jada Beatty attacked with a glass bottle on Dec. 16.

Beatty has been charged with four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated battery to a transit passenger, and two counts of aggravated battery to a victim over the age of 60.

Even before last week's arrest, she had a criminal history stretching back years, including multiple battery cases on public transit, some involving elderly victims.

One of her youngest victims said she no longer feels safe riding public transportation.

Ryta Ho, 19, was visiting from Florida for winter break last week, and was riding the Red Line near Lake Street, when Beatty allegedly attacked her with a glass bottle.

"That person just came up with a glass bottle and then hit me in the head," she said.

Minutes later, police said Beatty attacked a 31-year-old woman on the CTA, before attacking a married couple in their 60s inside the Macy's department store on State Street, which is connected to the Red Line stop at Lake Street.

Ho said her experience has left her afraid to ride public transit.

"Last time it was a bottle. I don't know if next time it can be a knife or a gun," she said.

A CBS News Chicago investigation uncovered Beatty has a troubled history, including documented mental illness that court records show led to violent outbursts.  

In addition to Tuesday's attack, she's also been accused of hitting a CTA worker in the face with a bottle, and another time pushing passengers down a subway staircase.

Beatty has been charged multiple times with attacking people on the CTA since 2022. In May, she was sentenced to two years in prison for beating a woman on a Red Line platform in 2024. 

She was given credit for more than a year she'd already spent in custody, and months later, after she was released, she was back on the CTA and pushed a rider down a staircase. A few weeks after that, she was then caught threatening two other CTA passengers.

She was sentenced to 80 days for the physical attack, but was given credit for 40 days she'd already served and released immediately after sentencing, and the case involving the threats was dropped. In Illinois, for many crimes, people are released after completing half their sentences provided they meet criteria for good behavior. Some more serious crimes require someone convicted of a crime to serve 75% or 85% of their sentence before they can be released for good behavior.

The day after Beatty was released last week for the CTA staircase attack, she allegedly attacked Ho and three others with a bottle.

"No one is watching her close enough that she attacked other people. If it happened the first time, then it's unpredictable," Ho said. "They didn't watch her close enough, then it becomes negligence."

In 2022, a judge ordered Beatty placed under a guardianship. A doctor described Beatty as "unpredictable and violent" and "not responsive to medications."

It's unclear what happened with the guardianship. Since then, she's been repeatedly in and out of jail, prison, and on electronic monitoring.

Even as she faced new charges, court records failed to mention her mental health needs. The guardianship doctor said Beatty needed to be in a skilled nursing facility. 

"The only remedy recommended is a nursing facility for the rest of their life. That gives me great pause. Is that the best we can do?" said Matt Davison, CEO of the Chicago chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Davison said cycling Beatty in and out of the justice system isn't good for her or for the public. He said more investment is needed in health care resources.

"It kind of begs the question of, 'Okay, then what? What can a judge do? What can law enforcement do that might not be equipped with all these other resources that this person might need?'" he said.

Davison said it's possible that, even though it is publicly documented, the court system might not be aware of or had access to Beatty's history after each crime she has been charged with.

Beatty is being held in Cook County Jail while she awaits trial for the latest charges against her. She is due back in court on Tuesday.