Frantic 911 calls captured the harrowing aftermath of a deadly stabbing aboard a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train that left 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska dead.
IZarutska, a young woman who fled the war in Ukraine with her family in search of safety, was tragically killed on August 22, 2025.
Security footage shared online showed the moment the suspect, identified as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., suddenly jumped from his seat and stabbed Zarutska three times in the middle of her throat.
She curled up defensively with her knees to her chest and hands over her mouth, looking up at him.
Within 15 seconds, she collapsed to the floor.
Witnesses described Brown calmly walking through the train with a folding knife dripping with blood.
Officers recovered the weapon near the outbound platform and found the accused killer nearby, wearing clothes that matched descriptions and nursing a cut on his hand.
He was taken into custody and hospitalized for evaluation.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers boarded the train near 1821 Camden Road and found Zarutska unresponsive.
Emergency responders pronounced her dead at 10:05PM.
Panicked 911 calls
Five 911 calls were placed in the immediate aftermath. In one, a woman told the dispatcher: “This man f***ing stabbed her for no reason,” as sobbing echoed in the background.
Another caller said, “This lady just got stabbed… I don’t think she’s responsive.
"There is a lot of blood.”
“She was stabbed in the carotid, I believe,” the caller added.
“There is no pulse. I think she’s gone.”
Callers described the suspect as a Black man with dreadlocks, wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, with his hand wrapped up.
One caller added: “Everyone is screaming. People are freaking out.”
Suspect has a long criminal history
Brown, a career criminal with diagnosed schizophrenia, has spent much of his adult life in and out of prison.
He served five years for a 2014 armed robbery and was most recently arrested in January for misusing 911 during a welfare check.
At that time, he had told police about “man-made” materials in his body controlling his behavior - similar to what he told his sister Tracy in a jailhouse phone call after the stabbing.
“I hurt my hand, stabbing her. I don’t even know the lady,” Brown said on August 28, per Daily Mail. “Why would somebody stab somebody for no reason?”
Tracey asked: “Out of all people, why her? She’s from the Ukraine, she’s from Russia, and they had a war going on against the United States, so I’m just trying to understand, of all people, why her?"
Brown responded: “They just lashed out on her, that’s what happened.
"Whoever was working the materials, they lashed out on her.
"That’s all there is to it. Now they really gotta investigate what my body was exposed to...
"Now they gotta do an investigation as to who was the motive behind what happened.”
His sister shared that she's not "blaming anyone for his actions, except for the state,” adding: “I’m blaming the state for letting him down as far as seeking help.”
Political fallout and federal charges follow
The attack has drawn sharp criticism from conservative leaders, with President Donald Trump calling Zarutska’s killing an example of failure in Democrat-run cities.
“In Charlotte, North Carolina, we saw the results of these policies when a 23-year-old woman who came here from Ukraine met her bloody end on a public train,” he said.
Brown has been charged with first-degree murder at the state level and one federal count of causing death on a mass transportation system.
Both charges carry the possibility of life imprisonment or the death penalty.
“We hope this federal charge will help bring her family a measure of justice,” said Barnacle, per Fox News.
“Everyone in this country deserves to go to work, to school or just across town without fear of being attacked.”