Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who fled the war in Ukraine, was fatally stabbed on August 22, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the East/West Boulevard light rail station on the Lynx Blue Line. She was attacked on a train by Decarlos Brown Jr., a 34-year-old man with a criminal record, who was fare-jumping at the time. Brown was arrested and charged with first- degree murder and faces possible death penalty charges. This tragic event sparked international attention and discussions about transit security, criminal justice, and mental health systems in the U.S. Zarutska had been trying to find safety and a new life in the United States when her life was brutally taken from her.
