Lawrence Reed, man charged with setting woman on fire on CTA Blue Line, not in court for competency hearing
The man charged with setting a woman on fire on the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line was not in court Thursday for a competency hearing.
In court, attorneys said Lawrence Reed was in Los Angeles to complete a competency exam ordered at his last court hearing. It was not clear why this required him to go all the way to Los Angeles.
Attorneys and a judge are trying to determine whether Reed is mentally capable of standing trial.
Reed is charged federally in the Nov. 17, 2025, attack on Bethany MaGee, 26, on a Blue Line train. A grand jury indicted him in December on charges of committing a terrorist attack or other violence on a mass transportation system.
Prosecutors said around 9 p.m. that evening, Reed approached MaGee, who was reading her phone on an O'Hare-bound Blue Line train, poured liquid on her, and set her on fire without provocation.
When the train stopped at Clark/Lake, MaGee got off and collapsed on the platform. Sources told CBS News Chicago that more than half of her body was burned. She was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
A grand jury also indicted Reed on charges of setting a fire outside City Hall on Nov. 14, accusing him of trying to burn down City Hall.
Separately, Reed was also indicted in December on charges of physically attacking two Chicago Transit Authority train passengers on March 27, 2025.
Another hearing in Reed's case is set for Nov. 12.
