Federal charges were issued Wednesday against a man accused of setting a woman on fire on a CTA Blue Line train in downtown Chicago this week.

Lawrence Reed, 50, was charged in a criminal complaint with committing a terrorist attack or other violence on the mass transit system — a federal offense rather than a state offense.

In an affidavit, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives Special Agent Adam Fitzgerald — who works in the Crime Gun Intelligence Center with Chicago police and other law enforcement agencies — said investigators found the woman lying on her back with severe burns to her face and body.

Investigators also found a partially melted bottle, a lighter, the ignitable liquid, and the burned remains of the woman's clothing, the affidavit said.

Chicago

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