GA great-grandmother killed in unprovoked Atlanta train stabbing
A tragic incident has unfolded in Atlanta, where a 66-year-old great-grandmother was the victim of an unprovoked stabbing on a city train. This heartbreaking event has led to federal charges against John Elijah Matthews. The victim’s daughter is left devastated, seeking answers and demanding improvements in transit security. Bruce Levell, the former chairman of MARTA operations, has voiced concerns over safety on the city’s busiest transit system, particularly highlighting the challenges posed by homeless individuals who often use the trains as shelter.
Recent violent attacks on public transit systems in three major U.S. cities have reignited fears among commuters. These incidents have also sparked public outrage regarding the justice system’s handling of repeat offenders.
Among the alarming incidents are a shooting on Atlanta’s MARTA system, stabbings at New York City’s Penn Station, and another stabbing on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line.
Highlighted here are three recent attacks on public transit that involve accused repeat offenders, fueling calls for more stringent measures to protect citizens.
Anthony Tyrone Gresham, aged 42 and a felon with a history of multiple convictions, is accused of a shooting incident at MARTA’s Midtown station in Atlanta. On Friday, June 5, Gresham allegedly opened fire, injuring a 17-year-old before making his escape.
On June 8, Gresham, who resides in Lithia Springs, was charged with several serious offenses, including committing an act of violence with intent to cause serious bodily harm on a mass transportation system, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Federal prosecutors assert that Gresham’s actions at the Midtown Station resulted in a teenager being wounded before he fled the scene. (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities say that Gresham allegedly walked up to the train car where the teen sat, pulled a handgun out of his bag and fired three times toward the victim.
The teenager was struck in his left hand and leg and medics took the teen to a nearby hospital.
Gresham, authorities said, ran from the station before law enforcement could apprehend him. The escape sparked a multi-agency manhunt that ended two days later when officers captured him in Douglasville.
Federal authorities charged Gresham with committing an act of violence with intent to cause serious bodily injury on a mass transportation system. He also faces federal charges for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Margaret Swan was killed in what officials described as an unprovoked attack. (MARTA/ @secduffy/X / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
The shooting came amid heightened scrutiny of MARTA safety following a separate fatal stabbing on the transit system days earlier of 66-year-old Margaret Swan, a great-grandmother.
In that separate attack, John Elijah Matthews, 25, a homeless man from Decatur, Georgia, was charged in a federal criminal complaint with committing an act of violence using a dangerous weapon with intent to cause death on a mass transportation system, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
He is also charged locally with felony murder, according to Fulton County records.
An Amtrak police officer stands near the scene of a stabbing in Penn Station on June 7, 2026 in New York City. Five people were injured in a stabbing incident at Penn Station on Sunday evening, according to the FDNY. The attack occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on the NJ Transit concourse. One victim sustained serious injuries, two suffered moderate injuries, and the remaining two were treated for minor injuries. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Hector Deleon, 51, was identified as the suspect in a stabbing and slashing spree inside Penn Station’s New Jersey Transit concourse in New York City on Sunday, June 7.
The random attack happened shortly after 7 p.m. on the NJ Transit concourse inside Penn Station and sent commuters scrambling. The stabbing spree in the busy Manhattan commuter hub left five people bloodied, with one seriously injured, officials said.
Deleon had at least seven prior arrests, including a 2022 case in which he was accused of slashing a man in the neck. He was later sentenced to two years’ probation with conditions including mental health treatment.
Victim Henry Obadiah criticized liberal soft-on-crime policies after being stabbed in Penn Station by a career criminal. In an interview with Fox & Friends, Obadiah recalled the stabbing which left him with a large slash on his cheek and lip.
“I’m heading toward the exit to 7th Avenue, and I’m walking, you know, toward the escalator, and I see these two guys kind of scuffling a little bit. I didn’t think anything of it,” Obadiah said.
“Walking toward the escalator, and I locked eyes with this crazy madman, and he just looked at me, and he had this rage in his eyes, and he went whack. Cracked me right in the mouth. And my first reaction was, ‘I’m gonna go after this guy. I want to kill him.’ But then this guy behind me goes, ‘he’s got a knife. he’s got a knife.’”
Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, is accused of fatally stabbing Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, aboard Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line on Aug. 22, 2025.
Federal prosecutors said Zarutska sat in front of Brown before he allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed her from behind. Brown has been charged federally with violence against a mass transportation system resulting in death, a charge that could carry life in prison or the death penalty if he is convicted.
Brown had a history of violent crime, including assaults and robberies, and had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yet he was still free and walking the streets.
A mugshot of Decarlos Brown is shown alongside surveillance footage of him on light rail trains in Charlotte. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; CATS)
On Tuesday, the repeat offender was deemed incompetent to stand trial in his federal case following a mental evaluation. This followed a previous May hearing for his state charges where the judge had ruled Brown incompetent to stand trial.
Brown is expected to be committed to a special facility under the direction of the U.S. attorney general for treatment aimed at restoring competency. If he is later found competent, the federal case could resume.
“Let me be clear, he will be in custody that whole time. Mr. Brown is in federal custody now and will remain in federal custody until trial,” Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said following the hearing. “For us, our number one goal here is justice for Iryna Zarutska and Iryna Zarutska’s family. That’s what’s on the top of our minds and our hearts every day.”
Brown could face the death penalty if the federal case proceeds. However, a defendant who is found incompetent cannot be tried or executed while incompetent.
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