Cliff Notes
- Surveillance footage shows Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr. pacing on the platform and boarding the light rail train shortly before the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, on August 22, 2025.
- Witnesses reported a chaotic scene with multiple 911 calls describing Zarutska as unresponsive and bleeding heavily from stab wounds to her throat.
- Brown was arrested without incident shortly after the attack and faces charges of first-degree murder and federal charges related to violence against a mass transportation system.
Suspect captured after fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte
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The following story contains details, descriptions and images of violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Newly obtained surveillance video shows suspect Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr. pacing on the platform and boarding a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) light rail train shortly before the fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, and later exiting the train and being taken into custody by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers.
The videos, obtained by Fox News Digital through Freedom of Information Act requests to the Charlotte Area Transit System and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, captured Brown, 34, before and after the random attack on Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, on Aug. 22.
CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING 911 AUDIO RELEASED OF DEADLY ATTACK ON IRYNA ZARUTSKA
Iryna Zarutska curls up in fear as a man looms over her during a disturbing attack on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail train. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
Decarlos Brown Jr. is seen at a station on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Aug. 22, 2025. (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department,)
Surveillance shows suspect before and after the fatal attack
In one clip, Brown is seen entering the Blue Line’s inbound train, dressed in a black T-shirt, jeans and carrying a red sweatshirt. He can be seen pacing back and forth on the platform before boarding the train.
In another clip, he is captured exiting the train, carrying the same red sweatshirt in his arms as he walks along the platform.
WATCH THE ARREST:
Police video captures search and arrest
Additional video from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police shows a group of officers arriving at the CATS platform and quickly swarming Brown and taking him into custody. Prior to the officers’ arrival, Brown is seen pacing near the light-rail tracks, his right hand wrapped in cloth. Officers approach with weapons drawn, ordering him to the ground.
Brown was detained without incident and provided medical attention before being taken into custody.
LISTEN TO THE 911 CALLS:
Graphic details from 911 calls
Fox News Digital previously obtained audio of five frantic 911 calls made in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing.
In one, a caller tells dispatchers, “This man f—ing stabbed her for no reason.”
Another caller pleads, “There’s a lady on the ground. She’s bleeding a lot. I don’t think she’s responsive.”
Witnesses described “a lot of blood” and feared the victim “was stabbed in the carotid [artery].”
TRAIN STABBING SUSPECT MAKES CLAIMS ABOUT DEADLY ATTACK IN JAILHOUSE CALL
Booking photo of Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., taken Aug. 28, 2025, days after the fatal light-rail stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO))
According to police and court records, officers responding to the Lynx Blue Line near 1821 Camden Road found Zarutska unresponsive with three stab wounds to the middle of her throat. She was pronounced dead at 10:05 p.m.
Brown was treated for a hand injury and later booked on charges of first-degree murder.
Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska came to the U.S. to escape war but was stabbed to death in Charlotte. (Evgeniya Rush/GoFundMe)
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Federal prosecutors also charged him with violence against a mass transportation system resulting in death.
“Iryna Zarutska had likely taken that train ride many times before,” James Barnacle Jr., the FBI Charlotte special agent in charge, said in a statement after the federal charge was filed in September. “She was probably tired after a day at work and just wanted to go home, but tragically she never made it.”
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.
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