Chicago Train Fire Victim Identified

Reed has 22 prior arrests since 2016 alone, and 53 criminal cases in Cook County dating back to 1993 — nine of them felonies for which he pleaded guilty, officials said.

However, he’s only served time twice, spending just 2.5 years behind bars in total, according to CWB Chicago.

According to court records viewed by the outlet, Reed was released with an electronic ankle monitor in August after knocking a social worker out cold at a psychiatric hospital where he had been committed. He left her with “likely optic nerve damage and a concussion, causing her to experience memory issues, headaches, and daily nausea,” a detention petition viewed by the outlet read in part.

Reed’s deranged behavior was on full display at his initial court appearance Wednesday, during which he caused frequent disruptions by “singing, babbling, and instructing the Court not to speak to him,” Boutros wrote.

He also attempted to interrupt the proceedings by repeatedly shouting “I plead guilty!” as the judge tried to read him his rights, and repeatedly yelled over the judge that he was a Chinese citizen and wanted to represent himself, according to local reports.

The CTA attack has drawn grim parallels to September’s brutal caught-on-camera knife murder of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who was killed while minding her own business on a Blue Line train in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Zarutska was savagely butchered by Decarlos Brown Jr. 34, a diagnosed schizophrenic, who was free on cashless bail after a magistrate released him on a “written promise” to show up for court — despite a nearly 20-year history of violence and mental illness.