A 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light rail train after fleeing the war for safety in the U.S. Police say Decarlos Brown Jr. attacked her without warning, later telling his sister in a recorded jail call that he didn’t know her and hinted at outside forces “lashing out.”
Brown’s family says he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, had claimed the government implanted a chip in him, and should never have been released without treatment. Zarutska’s grieving relatives are demanding justice—and systemic change to prevent such tragedies.