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, identified by police as Iryna Zarutska, had recently arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine to escape the conflict with Russia, as stated in a GoFundMe initiated by her family. Her death has drawn national attention and condemnation from President Donald Trump.
Officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to the 1800 block of Camden Road after receiving a call about 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 stated. He was taken to a local hospital “with non-life-threatening injuries sustained during the incident” and will be arrested and charged with first-degree murder upon his release.
Surveillance video obtained by WBTV shows an individual who appears to be Zarutska boarding a crowded train and sitting in front of someone who appears to be Brown. After a few minutes, the person believed to be Brown seemingly draws a pocket knife, stands up, and allegedly stabs the individual sitting in front of him. There appeared to be no interaction between the two 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 reflecting on what safety truly means in our city,” Lyles expressed. “I remain dedicated to doing everything possible to protect our residents and ensure Charlotte is a place where everyone feels secure.”
Zarutska had recently left Ukraine “seeking safety from the war and hoping for a fresh start,” according to GoFundMe, which is 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.”
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
