Like many cities in America, many of them blue, Washington, D.C. has a repeat offender problem, so much so that President Donald Trump federalized law enforcement in our nation's capital to try and help combat it.
My hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, has also consistently had to deal with the revolving door of criminals let back out onto the street, only to once again victimize innocent people and communities that just want to be left alone to exist in peace.
Unfortunately, a Ukrainian refugee who was hoping to start a new life in the United States became one of those Charlotte victims last Friday night, being stabbed to death on the Charlotte Light Rail system, allegedly by a repeat offender who is reportedly well known to local law enforcement.
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The victim's name was Iryna Zarutska. She was 23 years old.
NEW: Channel 9 has confirmed this was a random attack on the light rail. Iryna Zarutska did not know the suspect, Decarlos Brown, per CMPD.
— Hunter Sáenz (@Hunt_Saenz) August 26, 2025
This could have happened to anyone who rides the blue line.
Brown has a long criminal history. @wsoctv https://t.co/UhVeDpvBdw
Brown, like the late Jordan Neely in New York City, has had multiple run-ins with law enforcement and is believed to have mental health issues:
His rap sheet goes back to 2011 and includes felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats, according to court records obtained by The Post.
He even served five years in prison for armed robbery, only to be arrested for assaulting his sister just months after he was released in September 2020, the Daily Mail reported.The February 2021 attack left his sibling with minor injuries, according to a police report obtained by the outlet.
The menace’s most recent arrest before he allegedly knifed Zarutska was in January, when police conducted a welfare check on him, and he asked them to investigate a “man-made material” inside his body that was controlling his actions, according to an affidavit obtained by The Charlotte Observer.
According to WSOC-TV reporter Joe Bruno, in some of those instances, Brown was referred to local "resources":
CMPD's Community Policing Crisis Response Team interacted with Brown three times in 2024. Each time he was referred to resources. I've asked CMPD what these resources are, if he accepted any of them, if police have any recourse if they keep encountering someone who refuses help and why Brown wasn't arrested if he was accused of criminal activity. I have not heard back yet.
As it turns out, the responses from so-called city leaders so far have made this situation worse:
Usually after high profile, random crimes we do see CMPD give press conferences providing more clarity and info. I’m still scratching my head why one was not done for this, too. https://t.co/zkl6XKACNI
— Hunter Sáenz (@Hunt_Saenz) August 26, 2025
And it took Charlotte's Democrat mayor, Vi Lyles, four days to respond to the horrific crime amid reports about other residents who have talked about their nightmarish experiences on the light rail, where they dealt with mentally unstable individuals, and how they'll never ride it again.
When she did, she barely mentioned the victim, focusing more on the alleged perp while proclaiming she didn't want to stigmatize those who are homeless and/or are experiencing mental health issues:
First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to the young women’s family and friends.
This is a tragic situation that sheds light on problems with society safety nets related to mental healthcare and the systems that should be in place. As we come to understand what happened and why, we must look at the entire situation. While I do not know the specifics of the man’s medical record, what I have come to understand is that he has long struggled with mental health and appears to have suffered a crisis. This was the unfortunate and tragic outcome. While there are questions about the safety and security of our transit system and our city, I do know there have been significant and sustained efforts to address safety and security within our transit system and across our city.
Charlotte is by and large a safe city. CATS by and large is a safe transit system. However, tragic incidents like these should force us to look at what we are doing across our community to address root causes. We will never arrest our way out issues such homelessness and mental health. I am committed to doing the hard work with Mecklenburg County, community leaders, health care service providers, and the private sector to ensure that Charlotte continues to be one of the best cities in the world, with the highest quality of life for everyone.
I want to be clear that I am not villainizing those who struggle with their mental health or those who are unhoused. Mental health disease is just that – a disease like any other than needs to be treated with the same compassion, diligence and commitment as cancer or heart disease. Our community must work to address the underlying issue of access to mental healthcare.
Also, those who are unhoused are more frequently the victim of crimes and not the perpetrators. Too many people who are on the street need a safe place to sleep and wrap around services to lift them up.
We, as a community, must do better for those members of our community who need help and have no place to go.
Lyles has faced backlash on social media over her response.
"She seems to have more sympathy for the killer than the victim. What a disgrace," wrote one Charlotte resident, while another posted that "Your soft on crime policies caused this because if not for you, he’d have been in prison."
Another got to the heart of the matter: "Order your police to protect and arrest those who break the law. Get your DAs to throw the book at them and get the judges to keep them locked up. You can arrest/jail CLT out of this, but you choose not to."
Lyles is up for reelection in November.
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