The alleged Charlotte light rail murderer, Decarlos Brown, Jr., is now facing federal charges in the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee.
The Department of Justice on Tuesday announced that they filed a federal charge against the suspect. The charge is one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
Brown, 34, had already been hit with first-degree murder charges by the local authorities, the Charlotte-Macklenburg police after the stabbing. The FBI then began to investigate the incident with the local police department. An assistant U.S. attorney has been assigned to prosecute the federal charges against Brown.
The stabbing in question occurred on August 22 on the Lynx Blue Line train.
Approximately four minutes after Iryna Zarutska, 23, entered the train and sat down on the row in front of Brown, he attacked her with a sharp object stabbing her at least three times, one of which entered her neck. The incident was caught on camera.
Although Brown exited the train at the next stop, the police located him shortly after the stabbing and he was taken to the hospital for a cut on his hand. He was charged after he was discharged from the hospital.
The victim and suspect did not appear to know each other and investigators still have not expressed a motive.
On Monday, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said that there would be increased security on public transit throughout the city. The transportation authority said that it planned to add around 30 additional security workers in the coming months.
The video of the heartbreaking attack that took Iryna Zarutska’s life is now public. I want to thank our media partners and community members who have chosen not to repost or share the footage out of respect for Iryna’s family.
This was a senseless and tragic loss. My prayers…
— Mayor Vi Lyles (@CLTMayor) September 6, 2025
At the next city council meeting on Sept. 22, an agreement that enhances the transit authority’s right to increase security is expected to be brought.
