On August 22, 2025, Iryna Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed three times in the throat by Decarlos Brown, 34, while riding a train in North Carolina.
Brown has had a long history of violence and crime, which includes armed robbery, assault, setting a fire, and property theft. He had previously murdered a 65-year-old male during a robbery. Once released out of jail, Brown became homeless. He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffers from hallucinations and paranoia. He claimed his reasoning for attacking Zarustka was that she was “reading his mind.”
Zarutska had escaped Ukraine in 2022 along with her mother and siblings, looking for a safer and better life in America. Her family described her as a “gifted and passionate artist” and that she embraced and enjoyed life in the United States.
The video of Zarutska’s death has been spread across multiple social media platforms, leaving people scarred and shaken. Her passing has raised concerns for safety on public transportation.
Many students here at Cardozo High School use public transportation in order to get to school. Hearing about all the violence and crimes that have occurred on public transportation has left parents and children skeptical about the safety of people on public transportation.
Zarutska was attacked unprovoked and without warning, and while there were multiple people near her who witnessed the attack, nobody helped her. Everyone ran off the train and did not take a second to check on her. She died alone, scared, and confused.
While people want better security on public transportation, transit experts say that public transportation needs to be “open and accessible” in order for it to run smoothly. Officials cannot be security measures put in place, similar to airports, because it would only delay service.
Zarutska’s death has started a discourse online over what the real cause of the stabbing was. Some individuals bring in the issue of race and immigration, while others are saying the crime is based solely on misogyny. This situation is also being brought up in conversations surrounding mental health and its relation to crime and imprisonment.
Many people online believe that prison worsened Brown’s mental health condition, causing his schizophrenia to become more intense. With a long list of criminal history, Brown had already attempted to attack his own sister in 2022. She ended up not pressing charges due to the fact that Brown was mentally ill.
The attack shines a light on the lack of mental health resources available to those who live in poverty. Brown’s mother told news outlets that her son was “not the same” after his time in prison and although he was prescribed medication, he was not taking it. His mother even went as far as to bringing him to a mental hospital, but was turned away due to lack of space and resources. The hospital told Brown’s parents that because he wasn’t hurting himself, they could not admit him.
Zarutska’s mom emphasized the fact that this could have happened to anyone, that it was a random, unexpected attack that anyone could experience. Moving forward, this fatal stabbing opens the door to new safety laws on public transportation, or even an increase in justice laws for individuals with multiple criminal infractions.
