(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said Monday he was “appalled” by the unprovoked murder of a Ukrainian woman on Charlotte’s light rail system late last month, with the recent release of the attack on video causing outrage nationwide.
“I am heartbroken for the family of Iryna Zarutska, who lost their loved one to this senseless act of violence, and I am appalled by the footage of her murder. We need more cops on the beat to keep people safe,” Stein said in a statement on Monday.
Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on Aug. 22 just before 10 p.m. while riding the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.
According to the affidavit, Zarutska boarded the train and sat in an aisle seat directly in front of the suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., who is seen in a window seat wearing an orange sweatshirt.
The train travels for “approximately four and half minutes before the suspect pulls a knife out of his pocket, unfolds the knife, pauses, then stands up, and strikes at the victim three times,” according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.
Prior to the stabbing, there appeared to be “no interaction between the victim and defendant,” the affidavit said.
Zarutska was pronounced dead at the scene and a witness directed officials to the location of the suspect, the affidavit said.
Brown was arrested after he was released from the hospital with “non-life-threatening injuries sustained at the time of the incident” and was charged with first-degree murder, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
The suspect’s next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 19, according to court records. It is unclear whether Brown has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said the murder was a “senseless and tragic loss” and Lyles’ “prayers remain with [Zarutska’s] loved ones as they continue to grieve through an unimaginable time.”
“Like so many of you, I’m heartbroken — and I’ve been thinking hard about what safety really looks like in our city. I remain committed to doing all we can do to protect our residents and ensure Charlotte is a place where everyone feels safe,” Lyles said in a statement on Saturday.
The Charlotte Area Transit System, or CATS, confirmed to ABC News there was not security on board the train at the time of the attack, with a spokesperson saying a security team “patrols the system, they are not stationed in one area.”
“At the time of the incident they were riding on a train directly in front of where the incident occurred,” a spokesperson for CATS told ABC News.
According to Zarutska’s obituary, she was born in Ukraine and emigrated to the U.S. with her mother, sister and brother to “escape the war, and she quickly embraced her new life in the United States.”
The 23-year-old, who was described as a “gifted and passionate artist,” will be remembered for her “kindness, her creativity and the lasting impression she left on everyone she met,” according to her obituary.
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