Tragedy Strikes: Ukrainian Refugee Killed on Charlotte Light Rail in Chilling Surveillance Footage
A haunting new surveillance video has captured the last moments of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska before she was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail train. The footage, released by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), shows Zarutska, who had fled war-torn Ukraine, boarding the Lynx Blue Line shortly after 9:45 p.m. on Friday, August 22, in her pizzeria uniform. A man in a red hoodie is seen sitting behind her.
Around four minutes later, the man pulls out a knife and begins stabbing Zarutska three times, including at least once in the neck. Zarutska, who had fled war-town Ukraine, grabs her neck as blood spills onto the floor. Authorities later pronounced her dead at the scene. The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, was arrested shortly after the stabbing and hospitalized before being arrested on a charge of first-degree murder.
Records obtained by The New York Post showed that Brown has a history of arrests going back more than a decade, including charges of felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats. Police stated that Brown and Zarutska did not know each other, and the attack was random. Zarutska’s death has renewed calls for action on public safety in Charlotte. Members of the Charlotte City Council expressed concern after Zarutska’s murder about violence on the city’s transit system.
Rep. Brenden Jones, a Republican who represents the area, blamed Zarutska’s death on “the result of decades of Democrat Das and Sheriffs putting their woke agendas above public safety.” He wrote on X that, “Violent criminals commit crimes with impunity, while families live in fear.” The incident has sparked renewed concerns about public safety on Charlotte’s transit system and has prompted calls for stronger measures to prevent similar tragedies.