Fatal stabbing of Ukrainian Woman on Charlotte light rail — stirring debate on crime in major US cities
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| Gruesome video shows a man stabbing a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee |
Gruesome video shows a man stabbing a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee to death on a Charlotte light rail train — a case that has turned into a flashpoint as the Trump administration vows to crack down on crime in large, predominantly Democratic cities.
The unprovoked attack — which is being investigated by the FBI — happened shortly before 10 p.m. August 22, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. A caller said a woman was stabbed in the throat.
The victim, Iryna Zarutska, fled Ukraine in 2022 with her mother, sister, and brother to escape the war with Russia — “and she quickly embraced her new life in the United States,” her obituary states.
Zarutska was a talented artist who worked at Zepeddie’s Pizzeria and dreamed of becoming a veterinary assistant.
The suspect, Decarlos Brown, 34, was taken to a hospital for treatment of a laceration and charged with first-degree murder. Homeless at the time of the stabbing, Brown has a history of arrests, according to court records, and suffered from mental health problems, family members told CNN.
Video of the attack shows Zarutska entering a train car and taking a seat directly in front of the suspect. With earbuds in and wearing a T-shirt for the pizzeria where she worked, she looked at her phone.
Around four and a half minutes after she boarded the train, a man identified by police as Brown pulled a knife out of his pocket, the video shows. He unfolded the knife while Zarutska remained looking on her phone.
Then, the video shows Brown jumped up, grabbed the seat bar in front of him with his left hand, and stabbed Zarutska with his right hand.
Zarutska, curled up with her knees by her chest and with her hand over her mouth, looks up at her attacker. About 15 seconds later, she fell to the floor, the video shows.
The video doesn’t show the two interacting before the attack.
A judge has ordered Brown to be evaluated for 60 days in a local hospital. CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment.
Zarutska’s death drew attention over the weekend after video of the attack was released and former White House adviser Elon Musk posted about the incident several times on X.
The attack has since sparked several responses from the Trump administration and others who point fingers at crime and local authorities.
The mayor fired back in her most recent statement, blaming “a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates” for the death.
Suspect had lengthy criminal, mental health history
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Decarlos Brown is charged with murder for the death of Iryna Zarutska. |
He spent more than five years behind bars for robbery with a dangerous weapon, state records show. North Carolina state records list 14 cases for Brown, other than those related to the killing. They stem back to 2011 and include arrests for minor offenses like speeding and shoplifting. It is unclear how many of them were prosecuted.
After he was released from his five-year sentence in 2020, he “didn’t seem like himself,” his sister, Tracey Brown, told CNN, and he struggled holding conversations and jobs. Brown had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered hallucinations and paranoia, his sister said. He was sometimes aggressive and attacked his sister in 2022, she told CNN. Though he was arrested that night, she decided to drop the charges out of concern for her brother’s mental health issues.
“I knew he was battling something, but I wanted to know what it was,” she said.
Her brother told her multiple times the government had implanted a chip in him, she said.