A woman is in critical condition after she was set on fire while riding the “L” train system in Chicago, police said.
Police said a person of interest was taken into custody in connection with the incident Tuesday. No details about the person were released.
The woman, 26, was riding a Chicago Transit Authority train on Monday night when she got into an argument with an approximately 45-year-old man, police said in a statement.
The verbal altercation turned physical when the man poured a liquid on the woman and ignited it, causing the woman to catch on fire, police said. It is not clear what liquid the man poured on the woman.
When the train stopped, the suspect fled the scene while the woman set aflame exited the train and fell to the ground, police said.
The fire was put out before police got to the scene.
The woman sustained severe burns all over her body and was taken to Stroger hospital in critical condition, according to the police statement.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
According to NBC Chicago, passengers saw the burned woman being loaded into an ambulance by paramedics. One witness told the outlet that the woman appeared to be in a “really bad state.”
“I just saw a lady that was laying in the ground, and they were trying to give her CPR,” the witness told NBC Chicago. “And she looked like she was in an awful lot of pain.”
The train lines were shut down for hours, NBC Chicago reported, and service resumed around 1:30 a.m. Trains were running on schedule as of Tuesday morning.
