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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Suspect in Charlotte train stabbing that killed a Ukrainian refugee is
charged with a federal crime. Here’s what we know
By Holly Yan, Jeff Winter, CNN
Updated:
8:12 PM EDT, Wed September 10, 2025
Source: CNN
The suspect in the grisly on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail
train now faces a federal charge in a case that has turned into a
political lightning rod in the country where she had come to seek
safety.
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 states.
But on the night of August 22, moments after she texted her boyfriend
to say she would be home soon, a man sitting behind her on the train
stabbed her three times in the throat in an unprovoked attack.
The suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, had a long rap sheet and now
faces a state charge of first-degree murder and a federal charge of
committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
The federal charge comes with the possibility of the death penalty –
a punishment in this case. Prosecutors were still investigating, the US
attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson,
said Tuesday.
Democratic and Republican leaders have traded barbs over whom or what
is to blame in this case — and for violence nationwide. The debate
simmers against the backdrop of the Trump administration vowing to
fight crime by deploying .
Here’s what we know about the case polarizing opinion across the
country.
Death penalty on the table as officials trade blame
While the attack occurred last month, the case reached a national
audience last week with the release of surveillance video showing the
killing.
In the wake of the killing, Charlotte’s Democratic mayor, Vi Lyles,
initially released a statement that did not significantly address the
victim and instead focused on offering empathy to the suspect and
addressing homelessness and mental illness. A follow-up statement
notably thanked the media outlets for not sharing video of the
stabbing.
But under mounting criticism and after the video’s released , the
that blamed the attack on “a tragic failure by the courts and
magistrates” and announced increased security on the transit system.
“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,” Lyles
wrote.
On Wednesday morning, North Carolina Republicans, including from its
12th congressional district, spoke at a light rail station in Charlotte
to criticize what they called the “soft on crime” politics in the
Democratic-led city.
“Remember, Iryna Zarutska survived in Ukraine in a bomb shelter,”
said Kyle Kirby, chair of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party.
“In war-torn Ukraine, she made her way from that country to
Charlotte, seeking refuge and promise, and she was given the edge of a
knife.”
Local, state and national Republicans have accused Lyles and other
Democrats who lead Charlotte of installing criminal justice policies at
the expense of public safety. They said a man with Brown’s record
shouldn’t have been on the streets at all.
The US Department of Transportation on Wednesday opened an
investigation into the light rail transit system in Charlotte “to
determine whether they are taking the necessary actions to keep riders
and transit workers safe.”
In response, the Charlotte Area Transportation System said it
“remains fully committed to working collaboratively with our local,
state, and federal partners. These relationships are essential to our
mission, and we value the trust and cooperation they represent as we
continue working together to support our region’s transit system.”
The mayor said Wednesday the transportation system will add 30 more
security personnel and will “deploy new security teams including bike
patrols and urban terrain vehicles in the coming weeks.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he’s investigating the
possibility of cutting federal funding from Charlotte’s light rail
system.
“I can’t pull money today from their transit system,” Duffy told
Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday. “We start that investigation
tomorrow, and I guarantee all your viewers that if I find what I think
I’m going to find, they are not going to have your federal tax
dollars going to their public transportation system.”
Suspect said victim ‘was reading my mind,’ his sister says
For years, loved ones struggled to find the defendant in the case the
care he needed, family members said.
Brown had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered hallucinations
and paranoia, his sister Tracey Brown said. She said her brother told
her multiple times the government had implanted a chip in him.
“I knew he was battling something, but I wanted to know what it
was,” she said.
Brown was sometimes aggressive and attacked his sister in 2022, Tracey
Brown told CNN. Though her brother was arrested that night, she decided
to drop the charges out of concern for his mental health issues.
But it wasn’t Brown’s only run-in with the law. He has several
convictions on his record, including for armed robbery, felony larceny
and breaking and entering.
Brown spent more than five years behind bars for robbery with a
dangerous weapon, state records show. After he was released in 2020, he
“didn’t seem like himself” and struggled to hold conversations
and jobs, his sister told CNN.
Their mother had tried to get him placed in a long-term facility,
Tracey Brown told CNN, but her attempts failed because she wasn’t his
guardian. She said she talked to her brother after his arrest and asked
him why he attacked the woman on the train.
“Because she was reading my mind,” he told her.
His January release stokes controversy
Earlier this year, Brown was charged with misuse of 911, after he
allegedly asked officers to investigate a “man-made” material that
controlled when he ate, walked and talked, court documents state.
Officers told Brown “the issue was a medical issue,” and there was
nothing more they could do. Brown became upset and called 911, the
records state.
A condition of his release was his written promise to appear for his
next hearing, according to court records. The White House said his
release “free to slaughter an innocent woman just months later.”
CNN has reached out to Brown’s public defender, the Mecklenburg
County District Attorney’s Office and the magistrate judge who
ordered his release for comment.
Mecklenburg County Chief District Court Judge Roy Wiggins said he would
be reviewing local bond policy as a result of the case, according to a
letter addressed to North Carolina’s Republican Congressional
delegation and obtained by .
Wiggins also wrote he would evaluate to make sure procedures were
followed properly.
Wiggins’ letter was in response to a by North Carolina’s
Congressional delegation calling for the removal of the magistrate
judge who allowed Brown’s release.
“Furthermore, I, along with other leaders in our system, intend to
continue to educate our magistrates on the impact of their decisions
regarding pretrial conditions of release as set out in NCGS 15A-535.”
Even though Charlotte’s mid-year stats compared to the same time last
year, Trump said North Carolina needs reform.
“North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only
Republicans will deliver it!,” Trump said on Truth Social.
The refugee had ‘a heart of gold’
From Ukraine to the US, those who knew Zarutska said she brimmed with
potential. The talented artist quickly became fluent in English, found
work at a pizzeria and dreamed of becoming a veterinary assistant.
Zarutska graduated from Synergy College in Kyiv with a degree in art
and restoration, says.
“She shared her creativity generously, gifting family and friends
with her artwork. She loved sculpting and designing unique, eclectic
clothing that reflected her vibrant spirit.”
Zarutska “also had a deep love for animals,” the tribute states.
“She often cared for her neighbors’ pets, and many fondly remember
seeing her walking them through the neighborhood, always with her
radiant smile.”
She attended Rowan-Cabarrus Community College from 2023 to 2025, a
spokesperson told CNN. She was also a beloved coworker at .
“We lost not only an incredible employee, but a true friend,” the
restaurant posted on social media. “Iryna, we miss you more than
words can say.”
Despite the horrors of war in her home country, Zarutska “just had a
heart of gold,” a family friend told CNN affiliate .
“She was always very helpful, very supportive,” said the friend,
identified only as Lonnie. “She was a sweetheart. And it makes me
sick to think that she’s gone.”
Lonnie described the daily bombing Zarutska endured in Ukraine and the
agony of not knowing “if you’re going to live or breathe another
day.” But no one expected Zarutska to die so young in Charlotte.
“It’s very, very sickening and sad that we have such evil in our
society today,” Lonnie said.
Zarutska was a kind, hardworking young woman who had built a new life
in Charlotte, her family said in a statement.
“We are heartbroken beyond words. Iryna came here to find peace and
safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific
way,” a family spokesperson said. “No family should have to go
through this.”
The grieving family is now demanding change, citing a “lack of
visible or effective security” on the Charlotte Area Transportation
System Blue Line. CNN has reached out to CATS for comment.
The family also called for a full investigation into her death, for
city officials to enact reforms and for the media to stop spreading
footage of the stabbing.
“This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night,” the
family said. “We are committed to making sure this never happens
again.”
CNN’s Mia Blackman, Sophia Peyser, Dianne Gallagher and Eric Levenson
contributed to this report.
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