Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel revealed that the agency has been investigating a stabbing that took place on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, resulting in the death of a Ukrainian refugee.
“The FBI has been investigating the Charlotte train murder from day one,” Patel wrote in a post on X. “Stay tuned.”
Patel’s post comes after Iryna Zarutska, 23, was allegedly stabbed in the throat several times on August 22, 2025, by suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. while riding the Charlotte light rail.
Breitbart News reported that Brown was arrested and charged with first-degree murder regarding the attack on Zarutska.
Recently released video footage of the attack, which WBTV News obtained, showed Zarutska getting onto the train and taking a seat in front of Brown. The video footage also appears to show Brown “taking out a pocket knife” and stabbing “Zarutska three times in the throat area.” After stabbing Zarutska, Brown walks through the train car, with people on board noticing “blood dripping from him”:
The first clip shows the stabbing suspect, identified as Brown, sitting on the rail car before Zarutska boards the light rail. Brown can be seen moving around in his seat and appears to be emotional.
The next clip shows one angle of Zarutska entering the rail car and sitting down in front of Brown. The clip that follows is another angle showing Zarutska entering the rail car and sitting down.
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In the full video, WBTV observed the attack swing his arm and stab Zarutska three times in the throat area before walking away. Zarutska looked visibly shocked by the attack, falling to the floor shortly after.
Court records viewed by the New York Post have shown that Brown “has more than a dozen convictions dating back to 2014.”
Breitbart News reported that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Elon Musk were among the many people who criticized establishment media outlets such as NPR, CNN, and the New York Times for not initially covering the attack.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles (D) issued a statement that there was a need for a bipartisan solution that would “address repeat offenders who do not face consequences for their actions” and that would address people who are unable to “get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets.”
“Over the past several weeks as our community has worked to understand this, what we know is that this was a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates,” Lyles said in a statement. “Our police officers arrest people only to have them quickly released, which undermines our ability to protect our community and ensure safety. We need a bipartisan solution to address repeat offenders who do not face consequences for their actions and those who cannot get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets.”
The statement from Lyles comes after she thanked “media partners and community members” for not sharing or reposting footage of the attack after the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) released the footage.
President Donald Trump responded to the news of the stabbing, stating that Zarutska’s “blood is on the hands” of Democrats like former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), who “refuse to put bad people in jail.”
“I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES.”