Killing of Iryna Zarutska

On August 22, 2025, Iryna Zarutska was killed at the East/West Boulevard station on the Lynx Blue Line, in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who had fled her country because of the Russian invasion, was stabbed from behind three times while seated on the train. The suspected assailant, Decarlos Brown Jr., was arrested upon exiting the train and charged with first-degree murder.

The killing drew international coverage for Zarutska's status as a refugee seeking safety in the United States and prompted statements from Charlotte mayor Vi Lyles, North Carolina governor Josh Stein, and President Donald Trump. Footage of the killing sparked outrage on social media, leading to policy discussions about transit security, fare enforcement, and gaps in the criminal justice and mental health systems. In North Carolina, the killing prompted the passage of House Bill 307, dubbed "Iryna's Law", which set out various criminal law reforms, including seeking to resume capital punishment in the state.

Background

Iryna Zarutska (Ukrainian: Ірина Заруцька, May 22, 2002 – August 22, 2025) was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and was 23 years old when she died. Zarutska studied at Synergy College in Kyiv and earned a diploma in art and restoration, leaving at the age of 18. Following the 2022 Russian invasion, the Zarutska family's neighborhood of Solomianskyi was subjected to bombardments as part of the Battle of Kyiv. The Zarutska family moved from their apartment to a small bomb shelter, where they lived for months. In August 2022, Iryna, her mother, her sister, and her younger brother immigrated to the United States, living with her aunt and uncle in Huntersville, North Carolina. Her father remained in Ukraine, as the martial law in effect prevented men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country. It was reported that he was unable to attend her funeral in the United States, but this was refuted by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. In Huntersville, Iryna took various jobs and began learning English. Her boyfriend gave her driving lessons, since the family had never owned a car. She eventually moved to the NoDa neighborhood of Charlotte with her boyfriend, where she enrolled in college classes and found work at a pizzeria in Charlotte's Lower South End. On the night of the attack, Zarutska had finished a shift there and was commuting home on the Lynx Blue Line.

The 34-year-old suspect, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr. (born October 1, 1990), had been arrested 14 times in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, before the stabbing, with criminal charges dating back to 2007. On April 11, 2014, he was convicted of breaking and entering. While on probation, he was arrested for armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. Brown was convicted of armed robbery and incarcerated in state prison from 2015 to September 2020. Upon release, he initially lived with his family, but his mother told ABC News that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at this point and displayed violent behavior at home. His mother said that she had sought involuntary commitment, but that it was denied. The Associated Press reported that involuntary commitments are difficult to obtain unless a court finds the person to be dangerous. North Carolina reduced the capacity of state hospitals in the early 2000s, and the average wait time for a psychiatric bed was 16 days in 2024. After Brown stopped taking psychiatric medication, his mother took him to a homeless shelter. In January 2025, he made repeated 911 calls from the grounds of Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, after speaking with the medical personnel there, claiming that a "man-made material" inside him that was controlling his body. Instead of being immediately admitted, Brown was charged with misuse of 911 instead, and released without bond.

In January 2026, it was alleged that Brown was granted early release from prison in February 2021 as part of measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the context of litigation against then-governor of North Carolina Roy Cooper by the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP. The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction stated that Brown was not released early, and that he was released due to post-release supervision being reinstated by a hearing officer. In February 2026, President of the United States Donald Trump stated "Repeat Violent Offender DeCarlos Brown Jr. was put on the streets by Radical Roy Cooper, and his soft-on-crime agenda".

Killing

On August 22, 2025, Brown spent several hours riding on the Lynx Blue Line, during which surveillance footage showed him "making unusual movements" and laughing to himself. At 8:18 PM, he was passed by two Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) security officials, but did not interact with them. Local Charlotte television channel WBTV later quoted authorities as saying that Brown "did not have a ticket to ride the train".

At 9:46 PM that evening, Zarutska boarded the Lynx Blue Line at the Scaleybark station in Charlotte's South End neighborhood. Surveillance footage shows Zarutska sitting in front of Brown, who was already seated on the train. Four minutes after Zarutska boarded, Brown pulled a pocketknife from his hoodie and stabbed Zarutska three times from behind, including at least once in the neck. Zarutska remained conscious or semi-conscious for nearly a minute before bleeding out and collapsing on the floor. No security personnel were present in the train car, though there were officers on board the train one car ahead. At least four other people were sitting near Zarutska during the stabbing, and passengers provided assistance after she collapsed on the floor. Zarutska became "unresponsive" shortly after the stabbing and was pronounced dead at the scene. A Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit stated that she had one stab wound in the middle of her neck and a small cut on her left knee. An autopsy by the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner's Office found that she had sustained three stab wounds: one in the neck injuring the right jugular vein, one in the right breast injuring the left carotid artery, and one in the left knee. After the attack, Brown is reported to have said "I got that white girl."

Brown exited the train at the East/West Boulevard station two minutes following the stabbing, and was arrested by police on the platform. He was transported for treatment for a hand wound. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) named Brown as the suspect, and it did not disclose the motive for the attack.

Legal proceedings

Following Brown's arrest, a judge ordered a 60-day psychological evaluation at a local hospital. On September 15, 2025, Brown was indicted by a grand jury. He was charged in North Carolina state court with first-degree murder and in federal court with committing an act causing death on a mass-transportation system. He was held at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center without bond. The investigation remains ongoing, with CMPD's homicide unit encouraging the public to provide any relevant information.

United States magistrate judge Susan Rodriguez appointed a capital defense lawyer to represent Brown alongside federal public defenders. In October 2025, it was announced that a Rule 24 court hearing to determine whether Brown would face the death penalty had been delayed to April 2026. On October 22, Brown was indicted by a federal grand jury for violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system. On December 11, Brown appeared in Charlotte federal court for the first time.

After Charlotte television station WSOC-TV filed a civil lawsuit seeking copies of audio and video recordings held by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department relating to the killing of Zarutska, lawyers acting for Brown filed an emergency motion seeking a federal injunction challenging the release on the basis that Brown would incur "irreparable harm to his rights to due process and a fair trial" should the recordings expose witnesses. The motion was granted by the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. WSOC-TV in turn challenged the injunction, arguing that Brown's lawyers violated the Anti-Injunction Act by asking a federal court to interfere with state proceedings.