Federal Charge Filed After Deadly Charlotte Train Stabbing

Federal Charge Filed Against Charlotte Man in Train Stabbing

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal criminal charge against Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, in connection to the brutal August 22, 2025, murder of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, aboard the Lynx Blue Line CATS commuter train. The charge—causing death on a mass transportation system—is punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.

HORRIFYING MOMENT CAUGHT ON CAMERA

According to surveillance video, Zarutska had just boarded the train and sat in the aisle seat in front of Brown. In a sudden and unprovoked attack, Brown allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed her multiple times. The train made an emergency stop, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested Brown as he stepped off at the next station.

Brown already faces a state-level first-degree murder charge. But with the feds now stepping in, he’s hit a federal level. His criminal history is extensive—14 prior arrests—and he reportedly has a diagnosed schizophrenia disorder. Brown was reportedly homeless and suffering from mental health issues, and his mother told reporters that she had sought to have him involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital after he became violent.

“This murder was unforgivable,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who pledged to prosecute Brown to the “fullest extent of the law.”

FBI Director Kash Patel praised the swift federal action, saying “Brown will never again see the light of day.”

The murder has become political cannon fodder, with conservative leaders using it to slam “soft-on-crime” policies in Democrat-led cities like Charlotte. President Donald Trump and others have called for harsher judicial reform, citing the attack as proof of the dangers of lenient bail laws and under-policed transit systems.

Local Charlotte officials have vowed to tighten transit security, beef up fare enforcement, and add more on-board personnel to CATS trains following viral outrage over the graphic attack footage.