Fact Check 1. Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on a train in North Carolina.
1) Verification through the official police press release and the U.S. Department of Justice press release.
- The affidavit attached to the criminal complaint mentioned in the U.S. Department of Justice press release
“According to allegations in the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint:
On August 22, 2025, at approximately 9:55 p.m., officers with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) responded to a call for service related to an assault that occurred on the Lynx Blue Line light rail in Charlotte. Callers indicated that a woman had been stabbed by a male. Responding officers located the victim inside the rail car. The victim, subsequently identified as Iryna Zarutska, had sustained fatal stab wounds. A pocketknife and other items were collected from the scene.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage that showed the victim entering the light rail car and sitting down in the row in front of Brown. Approximately four minutes later, Brown pulled a knife from his pocket and unfolded it before striking the victim three times from behind. Following the attack, Brown walked away from the victim. Responding officers located Brown on the light rail platform and he was arrested.”
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-light-rail-attacker-federal-crime?utm_source=chatgpt.com
2) Cross-checking with local media reports
WBTV ‘Stabbed for no reason’:911 calls released from night of Charlotte light rail killing
https://www.wbtv.com/2025/10/01/stabbed-no-reason-911-calls-released-night-charlotte-light-rail-killing/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
WBTV “Light rail stabbing: Graphic video shows moments before, after woman killed in Charlotte”
https://www.wbtv.com/2025/09/05/light-rail-stabbing-graphic-video-shows-moments-before-after-woman-killed-charlotte/
Through CCTV footage and actual 911 call recordings released by WBTV, a local television station based in Charlotte, North Carolina, it was confirmed that Iryna Zarutska was stabbed multiple times by Decarlos Brown on August 22 aboard the Charlotte Light Rail.
WBTV stated that it. obtained the surveillance footage on September 5 from the Lynx Blue Line light rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“WBTV on Friday, Sept. 5 obtained surveillance video of a deadly stabbing that happened two weeks earlier on the Lynx Blue Line light rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can watch our edit of that video below.”
Fact Check 2. The victim is Iryna Zarutska (23), a Ukrainian refugee.
An ABC News interview with Zarutska's uncle revealed that she fled Ukraine and arrived in the United States in 2022. Before moving in with her boyfriend, she lived with her uncle, aunt, mother, and siblings.
“The victim's uncle, who described his niece as a "comforter" and "confidant," said Zarutska fled Ukraine and arrived in the United States in 2022, where she was living with her uncle, aunt, mother and siblings before moving in with her boyfriend in May, he said. Officials said Zarutska had lived in a bomb shelter before arriving in the U.S.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/uncle-murdered-charlotte-stabbing-victim-speaks/story?id=125509850&utm_source=chatgpt.com
Fact Check 3. The suspect, Decarlos Brown, is a homeless repeat offender and a schizophrenia patient.
According to court records, Brown had been cycling through the criminal justice system for over ten years. He was first charged in 2014 with. possession of a firearm by a felon, but the case was dismissed after he pleaded guilty to armed robbery when the state prosecutor declined to pursue the firearm charge. In January 2025, he was arrested for a misdemeanor while exhibiting signs of mental instability but was released without bail. These records indicate that Brown had a long history of criminal offenses.
WBTV “Timeline: What we know about Charlotte light rail stbbing suspect’s criminal history”
https://www.wbtv.com/2025/09/09/timeline-charlotte-light-rail-stabbing-suspect-has-history-arrests-prison-time/
In an ABC News interview with Brown's sister and mother, Michelle Dewitt, they stated that after Brown was released from prison in 2020, they noticed changes in his behavior, and his condition worsened over the next three years. His mother said that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed medication, but he refused to take it.
“Brown's mother told ABC News that after her son had been released from prison in 2020 after serving time for armed robbery, "he was different" and began showing violent behavior like slamming doors and yelling in her face. While he was living with her, he would also walk around the home and talk to himself, Dewitt said.
Dewitt said her son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been given medication, but she said he refused to take it.”
In the same ABC News interview, Brown's mother explained that she took him to a mental health hospital, but for various reasons, he could not be admitted. She said she wanted to help him establish a stable routine, but after he stopped taking his medication, it became impossible, and she eventually dropped him off at a homeless shelter. ( The shelter was identified as the "Roof Above Lucille Giles Men's Shelter" in Charlotte, operated by the nonprofit organization roof Above, although ABC News was unable to reach the organization for comment.)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/mother-sister-charlotte-stabbing-suspect-describe-history-mental/story?id=125451590
