Iryna Zarutska: Ukrainian refugee fatally stabbed on Charlotte light rail, suspect charged with murder
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A chilling attack on a Charlotte light rail train has left a Ukrainian refugee dead and renewed urgent questions over transit safety.
Iryna Zarutska, 23, had left her war-torn homeland for what she believed would be a safer future in the United States. But on the night of August 22, police say her journey ended in tragedy when she was stabbed to death in a random assault on the Lynx Blue Line.
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She settled into a seat, scrolling on her phone, apparently unaware of the man looming behind her.
Within minutes, that man identified by police as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. allegedly pulled a folding knife and lunged, striking Ms Zarutska three times, including once in the neck.
As blood poured onto the train floor, the young woman clutched her neck and collapsed in her seat. She was pronounced dead before she could be moved from the carriage, The New York Post reported.
Court records show Mr Brown’s criminal history stretches back more than a decade, including armed robbery, larceny and threats. He once served five years in prison and has faced multiple arrests since 2011.
The suspect, who appeared to discard clothing and wait by the doors, left the train at the next stop. Officers later recovered a knife nearby. Mr Brown was treated for a hand injury before being arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
“Brown wanted officers to investigate this ‘man-made’ material that was inside of his body,” reads an affidavit from a previous bizarre arrest earlier this year, when police said he misused 911 to report delusional claims.
Transit security has also come under scrutiny.
It took six minutes for police to respond to the stabbing, while guards assigned to the train were in another carriage. In response, CATS officials said they have tripled the safety budget, hired a new chief safety officer and begun upgrading cameras.
The Charlotte City Council is set to debate expanding police patrols on buses and trains later this month.
Community grief has been raw and immediate.
A fundraiser launched by Ms Zarutska’s family, who said she had only recently arrived in America, has raised more than $38,000.
“Tragically, her life was cut short far too soon,” the GoFundMe read.
