North Carolina police are investigating the slaying of a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman on board a Charlotte Area Transit System train last month.
The victim, who was identified by police as Iryna Zarutska, had recently come to the U.S. from Ukraine to escape the war with Russia, according to a GoFundMe started by her family. Her death has generated national attention and outrage from President Donald Trump.
Officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to the 1800 block of Camden Road following a call reporting an assault with a deadly weapon on Aug. 22, according to a police news release. Zarutska had been stabbed on the LYNX Blue Line train near the light rail station, WCNC reported.
Officers found the 23-year-old had sustained knife wounds, and she was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was identified as a suspect in the stabbing, police said. He was taken to a local hospital "with non-life-threatening injuries sustained at the time of the incident" and will be arrested and charged with first-degree murder upon his release.
Brown has a long criminal history spanning over a decade, including felony breaking and entering and robbery with a dangerous weapon, for which he served a 5-year prison sentence, according to court records.
Surveillance video obtained by WBTV shows someone who appears to be Zarutska getting on a full train and sitting in front of a person who appears to be Brown. After a few minutes, the person reported to be Brown seemingly takes out a pocket knife, stands up, and allegedly stabs the individual sitting in front of him. There did not appear to be any interaction between the two people before the alleged stabbing.
In a statement, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles called the incident "a senseless and tragic loss."
"My prayers remain with her loved ones as they continue to grieve through an unimaginable time. Like so many of you, I’m heartbroken — and I’ve been thinking hard about what safety really looks like in our city," Lyles said. "I remain committed to doing all we can to protect our residents and ensure Charlotte is a place where everyone feels safe."
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson, said his office is "looking at every way the federal government can bring justice to Iryna Zarutska and her loved ones."
"This act of violence affects the confidence of all those who rely on public transportation to commute to work and go about their daily business, and restoring that confidence is our mission," he said in a statement shared on X.
Zarutska had recently left Ukraine "seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning," according to GoFundMe, seeking support for her aunt and uncle with funeral expenses.
Trump mentioned the stabbing on Monday while delivering remarks during the second hearing of the Religious Liberty Commission in Washington, D.C., saying, "There are evil people, and we have to confront that."
"A lunatic just got up and started — it’s right on the tape, not, not really watchable, because it’s so horrible," he said. "But just viciously stabbed. She’s just sitting there. So, there are evil people. We have to be able to handle that. If we don’t handle that, we don’t have a country."
Her death has also spurred rebukes from others on the right, who have accused the media of purposely not covering the incident.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller blamed the Democratic Party for the incident.
"The Democrat Party at every level — judges, politicians, academics, nonprofits — is organized around the defense and protection of the criminal, the monstrous and the depraved," he wrote in a post on X. "The more vile the threat, the more vociferously the Democrat Party works to protect and enable it."
Elon Musk, who formerly held an unofficial advisory role in the Trump administration, commented on the incident in several posts on X.
“Let’s change the law,” Musk wrote in one X post. "Between now and then, name and shame the DAs and judges who enable murder, rape and robbery. But especially shame those who funded the campaigns of the DAs and judges. That will make the biggest difference."
After receiving criticism, Lyles released a letter calling the incident "a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates."
"Our police officers arrest people only to have them quickly released, which undermines our ability to protect our community and ensure safety," Lyles said in the letter. "We need a bipartisan solution to address repeat offenders who do not face consequences for their actions and those who cannot get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets."
The investigation is ongoing.
