The Department of Justice Department (DOJ) on Tuesday announced federal charges against a repeat violent offender man in the brutal stabbing death of a young Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, aboard a Charlotte commuter train last month.
The case has sparked outrage across North Carolina and reignited debate over soft-on-crime policies that allow dangerous criminals to roam the streets despite lengthy rap sheets.
Prosecutors say Decarlos Brown Jr., a man with a long history of violent arrests, randomly attacked 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a recent refugee who had fled war-torn Ukraine in hopes of building a better life in the United States.
Authorities said Brown pulled a knife and fatally stabbed her in an unprovoked assault that was captured on surveillance video. (THIS IS ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE SHOWING THE FULL VIDEO HERE.)
BREAKING: Newly surfaced footage shows the aftermath of the Charlotte light rail attack in which repeat offender DeCarlos Brown Jr. fatally stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska. pic.twitter.com/n4YV2CGrYz
— Resist Times (@resistupdates) September 9, 2025
Zarutska’s story has touched many across the nation. According to relatives, she fled Ukraine to escape the chaos of Russia’s invasion and came to America determined to work, study, and live freely. “She wanted