The devastating video, currently making the rounds on social media, is extremely difficult to watch. It shows 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, dressed in her work uniform, quietly scrolling through her phone on the Lynx Blue Line train in Charlotte. She had just finished her shift and was heading home. But just four minutes after she boarded that train on the evening of August 22, 2025, her life was brutally taken in a random and senseless attack.
The footage, released by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), captures the chilling moments before she was ambushed by 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., a homeless repeat offender with a long criminal history. He allegedly pulled out a folding knife and stabbed her three times, at least once in the neck, as she sat unaware.
Iryna was a Ukrainian refugee who had fled the war in her homeland, seeking safety and a new beginning in the United States. She had been in the country for only a few weeks, working at a pizzeria and a Subway in Huntersville, taking English classes, and dreaming of becoming a veterinary assistant. Her family described her as a gifted and passionate artist with a vibrant spirit, who loved sculpting, designing eclectic clothing, and animals. She was a homebody who also enjoyed exploring new places, and her mother lovingly recalled her “artist’s gift” of sleeping for wonderfully long stretches.
Tragically, her journey for peace ended in an unimaginable tragedy that has left her family and community heartbroken and sparked urgent conversations about public safety.
You Might Like: Laken Snelling Baby Autopsy Report
A Dream Cut Short by Unthinkable Violence
Iryna Zarutska’s story is one of perseverance and hope. She had a degree in art and restoration from Synergy College in Kyiv and was building a life in Charlotte, taking English classes at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and working as a line cook. She loved pet-sitting and would flash a radiant smile while walking dogs in her neighborhood. Her dreams included becoming a veterinary assistant and getting her driver’s license.
But on that fateful night, these dreams were shattered in a matter of minutes. Surveillance video shows Brown sitting behind her on the train, emotional and restless, before he suddenly stood up, unfolded a pocket knife, and lunged at her. There was no interaction between them before the attack, making it a completely random act of violence.
After stabbing Iryna, Brown calmly walked through the rail car, stripping off his sweatshirt as passengers noticed blood dripping from him. Iryna clutched her neck, collapsing in her seat as blood spilled onto the train floor. She was pronounced dead on board. Brown exited at the next stop, where police later recovered the knife. He was treated at a hospital for a cut on his hand before being charged with first-degree murder. The attack happened so quickly that Iryna had little chance to defend herself.
She escaped the war in Ukraine seeking safety. Iryna Zarutska was butchered on a Charlotte train.
Where’s the outrage? pic.twitter.com/vuWP3nmMbV
— Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) September 7, 2025
Former FBI agent M. Quentin Williams noted, “She was not in a position to respond. He caught the most vulnerable person on the train. She was in close proximity to him, she had her back to him, she also was doing something that diverted her attention away.”
A Community’s Outrage and a Family’s Grief
The release of the video has sparked outrage and grief throughout Charlotte and beyond. Mayor Vi Lyles called Iryna Zarutska’s death a “senseless and tragic loss” and expressed her commitment to improving safety in the city. The incident has raised serious concerns about security on public transit, especially since Brown did not have a ticket to ride the train, and there was no security present in the exact car where the attack happened.
CATS has since announced measures to address these issues, including hiring a chief safety and security officer, tripling the safety budget, upgrading cameras, and planning to request a partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for more police presence on buses and trains.
Iryna’s family has been left to grapple with an “irreparable loss.” A GoFundMe campaign was set up to help with funeral expenses and support her loved ones, describing her as someone who had recently arrived in the U.S., “seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning.” The fundraiser has raised over $38,000. Meanwhile, Decarlos Brown Jr. remains in jail without bond, undergoing a competency evaluation.
His criminal history dates back to 2011, including arrests for robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, and misusing 911. In January 2025, he claimed during a welfare check that a “man-made” material inside his body was controlling him. As of early September 2025, no motive has been identified for the attack.
Also See: Laken Snelling’s Parents: Her White Pine, Tennessee Family
Iryna Zarutska’s death is a heartbreaking reminder of how fragile life can be. Her story has touched people around the world, not only because of the brutal nature of her murder but also because of the promise and potential she embodied. As Charlotte reflects on this tragedy, the community is left to mourn a young woman who sought safety and instead found violence, and to demand change so that no one else suffers such a fate.
