Surveillance footage released Friday shows a homeless ex-convict allegedly stabbing a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee to death on a Charlotte light rail train in what police called a random attack.
The Charlotte Area Transit System video captures Iryna Zarutska boarding the Lynx Blue Line at 9:46 p.m. on August 22. Four minutes later, Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, pulls out a pocket knife and stabs her three times, including at least once in the throat, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, WBTV reported.
The footage shows Brown walking through the rail car after the attack, removing his red sweatshirt as passengers notice blood dripping from him. Zarutska collapsed in her seat and was pronounced dead on the train.
New video shows the moments leading up to and following the deadly stabbing of a woman on the Charlotte light rail.
See footage here: https://t.co/Gm19qv9x8C
(WARNING: Content is graphic.) pic.twitter.com/6yMqkp93Ml— WBTV News (@WBTV_News) September 5, 2025
Brown exited at the next stop where police recovered a folding knife near the platform. Officers arrested him after he received treatment for a hand laceration.
Court records show Brown has multiple arrests dating to 2011, including robbery with a dangerous weapon, larceny and communicating threats. He served five years in prison for the armed robbery charge, according to WSOC-TV.
In January, police arrested Brown for misusing 911 after he claimed during a welfare check that a “man-made” material inside his body was controlling him as he ate, walked and talked, according to an affidavit. (RELATED: Homeless Man With Major Criminal History Allegedly Stabs Ukrainian War Refugee To Death)
Zarutska “had recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,” according to a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $38,000 for her family.
Brown faces first-degree murder charges, the outlet reported. Police have not determined a motive for the attack.
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