A 26-year-old woman has been left fighting for her life after she was set on fire while riding on a Chicago train last night.
According to police, the woman was doused in an unknown liquid before being set alight on the CTA Blue Line, as the train approached the Clark and Lake stop in the Loop section of the city.
The horrifying incident took place at 9.25 pm, according to a Chicago Police Department statement, and ended with the woman stumbling onto the platform. Bystanders extinguished the flames as they waited for officials to arrive.
Meanwhile, the suspect, who police say is believed to be around 45 years old, fled the scene and remains at large, officials have said.
The unnamed woman was quickly rushed to Chicago’s Stronger Hospital by the fire department, where she was found to have severe burns to her body and face, and remains in critical condition, according to the statement.
“Just seeing her lying on the ground and she was kind of hyperventilating and in a lot of pain,” a witness told Fox 32. “You could tell she was in really bad shape.
“All the medics were down there and there was a big turnout as far as responders and so forth.”
Another witness told NBC 5 that they “saw a lady that was laying in the ground, and they were trying to give her CPR.” As with the witness who spoke to Fox 32, they noted that the woman appeared to be in a “really bad state.”
The motive behind the horrifying attack remains unknown. Police said they believe there was a verbal altercation between the woman and the unknown man, which took place shortly before he attacked her.
Video footage of the incident has surfaced on social media. The CTA Blue Line ground to a halt as rescue workers worked to save the woman, and it eventually began running again at 1.30 am.
The news comes as Illinois’ political leadership continues to clash with Donald Trump’s administration, with the president flooding federal immigration officers and National Guard troops into the Chicago area as the administration complained of out-of-control crime in the Windy City.
The unprecedented crackdown, known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” was widely criticized.
This week, it emerged that the hundreds of troops deployed in Chicago and in Portland are being sent home, according to a defense official.
Around 300 Illinois National Guard troops will remain in the Chicago area, but will not be able to join operations conducted by the Department of Homeland Security.
A U.S. Northern Command statement has confirmed that there will be a “shifting and/or rightsizing” of units in both cities.
The statement did suggest that there would be a “constant, enduring, and long-term presence in each city, though.”
The Independent has contacted the Chicago Police Department for further comment.
