Overview
- Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light rail train in August 2025.
- During the State of the Union, President Trump honored Zarutska and recognized her mother in the House chamber in an emotional moment.
- Trump described the suspect as entering the country due to open borders, but news outlets report he was born in Charlotte and is a U.S. citizen.
- The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, is charged with first-degree murder and faces state and federal counts that could carry the death penalty.
- Coverage notes Brown’s lengthy arrest history and reported diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, and points to North Carolina’s 2025 enactment of “Iryna’s Law,” which could allow the state to resume capital punishment, including by firing squad.