The unprovoked and brutal stabbing of a young Ukrainian refugee on a train in North Carolina has triggered widespread anger and debate over public safety and flaws in the United States criminal justice system.
Iryna Zartuska, 23, had fled the war waged by Russia on her home country in search of safety. But her tragic death on 22 August while riding a light rail train in Charlotte has raised questions about crime in the US and loopholes that allowed a known repeat offender to remain free.
Zartuska, wearing her pizzeria uniform, was attacked without warning by 34-year-old homeless ex-convict Decarlos Brown Jr. Police described the stabbing as “random” and “unprovoked”. CCTV footage from the train, shared on social media, captured moments leading up to the killing.
Brown had a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2011, with multiple arrests for robbery and larceny. This year alone he was arrested twice, first in January for misusing the emergency number 911, and later for bizarre behaviour, claiming “man-made material” was controlling his body.
Although his lawyer had filed a motion declaring him mentally unsound, Brown was released unsupervised while a court-ordered forensic evaluation was still pending.
Now charged with first-degree murder, his release has reignited debate over the US justice system’s handling of individuals with mental health issues.
Brown’s mother told that her son suffers from schizophrenia and had “fallen through the cracks of a broken system” despite the family’s efforts to get him help.
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), where the murder occurred, has responded by announcing a tripling of its security budget and upgrades to surveillance cameras. The Charlotte City Council is also considering expanding police patrols on public transit to restore public confidence.
Zartuska had studied at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in North Carolina from 2023 to 2025. Friends and acquaintances remembered her as a kind-hearted and talented young woman who dreamed of a new life in America.
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Makeup artist Ulyana Kozlovska, who once worked with her as a model, wrote on social media that Zartuska was “a beautiful person, a talented artist who was fleeing the war in Ukraine”.
A fundraiser page seeking $20,000 to support her aunt, with whom she lived, described her as someone with “a heart of gold” and said her death was “an irreparable loss for the entire family”.
The case has sparked political commentary online. Media personality Benny Johnson wrote on X that “she ran from war in Ukraine. She came here for safety. And America FAILED her.” He called the murder preventable and suggested it was part of “a war on White people,” though police have so far found no evidence of a racial motive.
Others criticised the justice system more broadly. Human rights activist Bienfaiteur Mutara wrote that the state bore responsibility, saying, “It is unacceptable that he was never permanently detained.”
For many, Zartuska’s death has become emblematic of the failures of a system that was supposed to protect her after she escaped the devastation of war.
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