A person of interest was questioned Tuesday afternoon after a woman was set on fire Monday night on a Blue Line train, Chicago police said.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m., a 26-year-old woman was riding a CTA train in the 100 block of West Lake Street when she was involved in an argument with a man in his mid-40s. The man poured liquid on the victim before setting her on fire, police said.
The man exited the train when it came to a stop, fleeing the scene. The victim also exited the train and fell to the ground, where the fire was extinguished before police arrived.
The woman, who suffered severe burns to her body, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition, police said.
Tuesday afternoon, police said a person of interest was being questioned in the Blue Line arson attack.
Police suspect the person in custody in Monday night’s attack is the same man who poured an unknown substance on City Hall over the weekend and lit it on fire, according to an arrest report obtained by the Tribune. The same suspect is also linked to another alleged criminal damage incident in the East Side neighborhood that took place Monday, per the report.
In a statement Tuesday, the CTA said it was working with police to support the investigation.
“CTA has been working closely with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Public Transportation Unit detectives embedded at the Strategic Decision Support Center (SDSC) dedicated to CTA to support their investigation, which has now led to the arrest of a person of interest,” the agency said.
The CTA added that it has a “multi-pronged approach” to safety and that crime prevention tactics on Chicago’s mass transit system include “proactive patrolling, targeted missions, and other law enforcement activities.”
Chicago Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky and Talia Soglin contributed.
