Overview

• Charlotte transit officials released surveillance footage showing Iryna Zarutska boarding the Lynx Blue Line at 9:46 p.m. on August 22 and being attacked about four and a half minutes later.
• Police say the assailant unfolded a pocket knife and struck Zarutska three times, at least once in the neck, then walked through the car and exited at the next stop where a folding knife was later recovered.
• Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested on August 28 after treatment for a hand injury, charged with first-degree murder, and is being held without bond, with a court-ordered evaluation to determine competency to proceed.
• Court records and local reporting detail Brown’s lengthy criminal history, including prior convictions for robbery and larceny, while Axios has reported a schizophrenia diagnosis referenced in coverage.
• The released video drew national attention, with Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles calling the killing senseless as commentators pressed officials over transit safety and media decisions on sharing the footage.