On the evening of August 22 in Charlotte, 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska died from stab wounds on a city train. According to police, the fatal attack was carried out by a 34-year-old African American man with a criminal record. Yet Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times, and other major outlets did not report the incident.
On social media, commentators note that the silence may be explained by the attacker’s identity: when the victim is African American, tens of thousands of articles are published, but when the perpetrator is—there is none at all.
Twenty-three-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on a light rail train. Police said the attack was sudden and carried out by a homeless repeat offender.
Zarutska, who had fled Ukraine because of the war, boarded the Lynx Blue Line train at 9:46 p.m. on August 22, returning from her job at a pizzeria. Footage shows her taking a seat and looking at her phone, unaware of the danger behind her. Minutes later, according to investigators, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. suddenly pulled out a folding knife and stabbed her three times, at least once in the neck.
A video shows the man removing his sweatshirt after the attack and standing by the doors as passengers began to notice the blood on his hands. Zarutska, clutching the wound on her neck, slumped in her seat and soon died at the scene.
Just four minutes later, police said, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. pulled out a folding knife and struck three times, at least once in the neck.
Surveillance footage shows Brown Jr. sitting behind Iryna Zarutska on the North Carolina train before pulling a knife and stabbing her.
Brown left the train at the next stop. A knife was later found near the platform. He was taken to a hospital with a cut on his hand, then taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. Police said he has a long criminal record dating back to 2011, including theft, armed robbery, and threats. He previously served five years for armed robbery. In January, he was arrested for making false 911 calls, claiming at the time that "an artificial material" inside his body was controlling his movements and speech.
Security guards were on the train at the time of the attack, but in a different car. Police arrived six minutes after the emergency call. The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) said that following the tragedy it had hired a new head of security, tripled the security budget, and begun replacing outdated cameras with modern ones. On September 22, Charlotte’s city council will review a proposal to expand police patrols on public transport.
Video shows Brown walking through the train car, removing his sweatshirt, and stopping by the doors as passengers began to notice blood dripping from him.
Despite the public outcry, America’s leading media outlets did not report the incident. Associated Press, known for its Democratic leanings, did not publish a single article about it. The killing of the Ukrainian woman was also ignored by at least CNN and The New York Times.
Zarutska’s family launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe, which has already raised more than $38,000. The appeal states that she "recently arrived in the US, seeking refuge from the war and hoping for a new beginning. Tragically, her life was cut short far too soon."