Police said they apprehended a person of interest Tuesday after a man allegedly doused a woman with liquid and set her ablaze over an argument on a Chicago transit train the previous night.

The 26-year-old woman was riding the train near Clark and Lake Streets prior to 9:30 p.m. when she ended up in a verbal dispute with a man believed to be roughly 45 years old, NBC5 Chicago reported, citing police. The dispute allegedly escalated when the man doused her with liquid and lit her on fire.

The alleged attacker fled when the train halted at the Clark and Lake station while the burning woman stumbled out of the car and fell to the ground. Chicago Fire Department paramedics transported her to an area hospital with severe burns covering her body. (RELATED: Train Driver Seemingly Gets Wakeup Call Of Lifetime, Nearly Crashes Into Car)

A witness described the scene after the alleged attack to NBC5 Chicago. “I just saw a lady that was laying in the ground, and they were trying to give her CPR,” the witness said. “And she looked like she was in an awful lot of pain.”

Passengers reportedly saw emergency crews loading the woman into an ambulance, according to the outlet.

Exclusive: A suspect is in custody for setting a woman on fire on the Blue Line last night, arrested midday in the Loop

He’s wearing an ankle monitor for an aggravated battery case in which a judge REFUSED to keep him in jail.

He has a history of arson.https://t.co/RPKwsJFbNc

— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) November 18, 2025

Chicago Police Department (CPD) arson detectives are conducting an ongoing investigation, officials said. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced it was “working closely” with detectives “to support their investigation and ensure the offender is quickly apprehended.”

The Clark and Lake station houses the Blue, Pink, Brown, Orange, Green and Purple lines, NBC5 Chicago reported. The alleged attack caused lines to shut down for hours. Trains resumed normal operations around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The fire was already extinguished when police arrived at the scene, authorities said.