Last month, a 23-year old Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska, was brutally stabbed on a North Carolina train.
Ms. Zarutska was on her way home from work when she was fatally stabbed while riding a light rail train.
Surveillance footage shows Zarutska sitting on the train and Decarlos Brown Jr. sitting behind her. Very suddenly, and seemingly unprovoked, he stood up and stabbed her multiple times. Some passengers got up and moved away from the scene, and others seemed to ignore it. Brown got off the train at the next stop. He was arrested and has been federally charged with first degree murder.
Zarutska had moved to the U.S. from Ukraine just two years ago, seeking better opportunities. Friends and coworkers described her as kindhearted, ambitious, and deeply devoted to supporting her family back in Ukraine.
The killing has sparked debates on improved security on public transportation, as this is not the first event of this nature. In 2024, there were multiple Transit-Related shootings in Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York. This year, there was a bus driver shot and killed in Atlanta and a bus operator stabbed to death by a passenger in Seattle.
Officials from the Charlotte Area Transit System expressed condolences to Zarutska’s family and pledged to review security measures on public transit in the future. Some advocates are calling for more onboard security staff, increased surveillance cameras, and better emergency response protocols.
