Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, was killed in a random stabbing attack while riding the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) Blue Line train in North Carolina. The 23-year-old and her family had fled the war in Ukraine, but she was killed in what seems to be an unprovoked attack. Decarlos Brown Jr., the suspect, was sitting behind her on the train and allegedly stabbed her in the neck without talking to her first.
CATS released disturbing video footage that showed Iryna listening to music and looking at her phone just before the attack. After the attack, Brown walked away without a care in the world. Officials said Iryna was dead at the scene. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department quickly arrested Brown and charged him with first-degree murder.
Brown has a criminal record and is known to have problems with his mental health. He was denied bail and told to get a mental competency evaluation when he went to court on August 29. The case has made a lot of people angry, especially after the video footage was released on September 5 and quickly went viral online.
People around the world have been shocked and sad by the story, which has gotten a lot of attention. The terrible event got the attention of the highest levels of government, and President Donald Trump spoke out about it during a press conference at Joint Base Andrews on September 7. At first, Trump didn’t know about the attack. He called it “horrible” and said he would look into it more.
After that, Trump gave a more detailed answer on Truth Social. He was angry about the murder and said bad things about the U.S. justice system, especially the policy of not allowing bail. He was angry that the suspect, who had been arrested before, had been let go several times.
Brown will next be in court on September 19, as more and more people are interested in the case.