After Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed while aboard a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, local commuters have been left concerned for their safety while riding Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
Weeks after the stabbing took place on August 22, residents spoke to Fox News Digital about their fears in a story published on Monday, September 9.
“I worked right up the street at the gas station and was actually at work when it happened on the train, so I was kind of, I don’t know what was going to happen,” one woman told the outlet. “I didn’t know if he had gotten away or what happened, but it kind of made me wary about getting on the train after that.”
Meanwhile, another woman that frequently rides on the train told the outlet she was grateful she was not in the city. She then noted that seeing the graphic footage of the murder was “very disturbing.”
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“Female safety is a big concern everywhere, and now it’s even more so an extra concern popping on the train,” she said. “I never have two earbuds in; I always just have one [so I’m] very aware of my surroundings for that reason. I do not want that to happen to me.”
A video has gone viral of the attack, which showed Zarutska boarding the train and sitting in front of a man dressed in a red hoodie. Zarutska minded her own business as she scrolled through her phone for a few minutes before the man pulled out a knife and stabbed her.
The suspect has since been identified as Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr. and he was charged with first-degree murder, according to the Mecklenburg County arrest warrant viewed by Fox News. The outlet also obtained records detailing Brown’s history of arrests that go back more than a decade.
Brown was previously convicted in 2013 for larceny and breaking and entering, while he was again convicted and sent to prison in 2015 for robbery with a dangerous weapon. He was released from prison in 2020 and his parole ended in 2021.
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On September 9, the Justice Department announced that Brown had been charged with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
One month before the stabbing, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) released its mid-year public safety statistics and stated that they saw a 29 percent decrease in homicides.
“I am incredibly proud of our patrol officers, who are in our neighborhoods daily, engaging with the community, observing suspicious activity and providing our detectives with the crucial information needed to arrest violent offenders,” Deputy Chief Ryan Butler said in the statement shared on July 17. “The progress we’re making in reducing violent crime comes from strong, ongoing teamwork.”
