SPECIAL REPORT: 26-year-old Bethany MaGee was just minutes into her commute when a man d0us3d her in p3tr0l and ch@sed her through the Chicago train — but prosecutors say one detail in his behavior seconds before the flame has raised even bigger questions

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AN innocent woman who suffered horrific burns when she was set alight by a violent lunatic on a train has been named as 26-year-old Bethany MaGee.

Prosecutors say Lawrence Reed, 50, sloshed petrol over the unsuspecting woman on a Chicago metro train on Monday night, chased her down and lit her on fire.

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Bethany MaGee, 26, has been named as the victim of the random fire attack on a Chicago trainCredit: Facebook
 

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Lawrence Reed, 50, has been named as the suspectCredit: Chicago PD
Bethany, from Upland in Indiana, managed to flee the train and escape, but was left fighting for her life with burns to 60 percent of her body.

She works as a business research analyst at Caterpillar after graduating with a bachelor of science at Purdue’s Polytechnic Institute.

Her Facebook profile photos show she is an animal lover and churchgoer, who is close to her parents Emily and Gregory and two brothers Mark and John.

MaGee’s father Dr Gregory MaGee is a professor of biblical studies at Taylor University, a Christian college in Indiana.

Dr MaGee wrote in his biography that the family enjoys spending time together while “hiking, being involved in their church, and playing games”.

Reed is said to have been caught on camera launching the diabolical attack, and to have shouted “burn alive b***h” as he was arrested.

He was hit with a federal terrorism charge and ordered to stay behind bars during a court hearing on Friday.

Reed is a serial offender with more than 70 arrests to his name and had “no business being on the streets”, police said.

Just in August, he was freed on an ankle monitor by a judge after allegedly attacking a social worker.

Bethany suffered the most serious burns on her left arm and hand, according to an update from her church community.

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She had surgery earlier this week and is expected to be in hospital for at least three months for treatment and rehabilitation.

Bethany was publicly identified by Transport Secretary Sean Duffy on Sunday.

He wrote in a statement alongside a photo: “It is devastating that a career criminal with 72 PRIOR ARRESTS is now accused of attacking 26-year-old Bethany MaGee on Chicago’s L train, and setting her on fire.

“This would never have happened if this thug had been behind bars.

“Yet Chicago lets repeat offenders roam the streets. Chicago’s carelessness is putting the American people at risk.

“No one should ever have to fear for their life on the subway.”

According to prosecutors, the 50-year-old visited a gas station 20 minutes before the attack and filled a plastic bottle with gas, which he then brought on board the train.

Surveillance footage shows the man, believed to be Reed, randomly picking a target for the sick attack, approaching her from behind, and pouring gas over the woman’s head.

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The attacker can be seen walking down the train with a flame in surveillance footageCredit: AP
 

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Reed has been arrested more than 70 times previouslyCredit: Chicago PD
The woman desperately fought him off and tried to flee, but the man followed her, lighting the empty bottle and setting her on fire.

US Attorney Andrew Boutros said: “Even as she was on the ground, trying to put herself out and is rolling on the ground, no one came to her aid until she was able to get off the train and to the platform.”

She had been “almost fully engulfed in flames” and was “still on fire” when she was able to exit the train, the criminal complaint states.

Police officers were called to the CTA train platform at Clark and Lake Streets around 9:25 pm, where they found the woman “laying on her back with severe burns to her face and body.”

Officers located a partially melted bottle, a lighter, and a suspected flammable liquid from where she had been sitting.

They also found the burned remains of some of the victim’s clothing, the complaint states.

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Bethany had leant her support to Black Lives Matter on social mediaCredit: Facebook
 

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Reed was released on an ankle tag in August after allegedly assaulting a care workerCredit: Chicago PD
After the heinous attack, surveillance footage showed the suspect calmly exiting the train car and walking away.

Reed was arrested on Tuesday in the same clothes the suspect was wearing on the train, and had “fire-related injuries to his right hand,” the complaint alleges.

During his arrest, body-worn footage captured Reed yelling “burn b****” and “burn alive.”

He has been charged with committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation system, and if found guilty, he will likely get life behind bars.

“This horrific attack was not just a barbaric assault on an innocent woman riding a train, but an act of terrorism that strikes at the core of our American way of life,” Boutros said.

During a court appearance on Wednesday afternoon, Reed repeatedly shouted “I plead guilty” when entering the room, NBC News reported.

Reed declined counsel and will undergo a mental evaluation after his outbursts, which included breaking into song in the courtroom.

He returned to court on Friday for a detention hearing – and was told he must remain behind bars.