CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Newly released surveillance video shows the minutes leading up to and following the deadly stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, on the Charlotte light rail.
The attack happened on Aug. 22 around 9:50 p.m. on the Lynx Blue Line. Footage released shows the suspect, identified as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., seated inside the rail car before Zarutska boarded and sat in front of him.
Investigators say Brown then pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed Zarutska three times in the throat. She collapsed moments later and was pronounced dead on the train.
Brown exited at the next stop and was taken into custody shortly after. He was charged with first-degree murder and remains jailed while undergoing a court-ordered competency evaluation.
Federal prosecutors have also launched a review to determine whether additional charges are appropriate. Authorities believe Zarutska and Brown did not know each other, and no motive has been publicly released.
Zarutska had fled Kyiv with her family in 2022 after Russia’s invasion and settled in Charlotte.