Frightening visuals of the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee are now circulating online, drawing heart-rending responses from netizens. In a newly released video, 35-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr is allegedly seen brutally attacking 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska.

The surveillance footage catches the man coming up behind the young woman’s seat. He then proceeds to plunge a pocket knife into her neck. In what developed into an unwarranted fatal assault, Zarutska, who had come to the US to escape the Ukraine war, caught no clue about the ill-intentioned man’s plans beforehand.

The story contains disturbing details of a stabbing incident.

Unprovoked attack on Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska – Charlotte train: Stabbing video emerges

The Ukrainian refugee continued scrolling on her phone as the man got ready to attack her. After stabbing her multiple times, the attacker walks off the seat. He walks upfront, right ahead of the woman. Zarutska, who finally makes sense of what had happened given the drastic turn of events, brings her knees up and cowers in fear.

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As per the surveillance footage, the 23-year-old then covered her face with her hands, while others struggled to grasp the situation. Due to the swift rate at which the incident unravelled, some bystanders didn’t even take note of the stabbing.

Meanwhile, as the man who stabbed her started walking ahead to leave the train, a trail of blood was left behind onboard. Seconds later, Zarutska presumably loses both her balance and consciousness, as she slips off her seat and falls to the ground. A pool of blood was left behind on her seat.

The unprovoked attack unfolded on a light rail train in Charlotte on August 22. However, the complete series of actions were finally laid out in the recently revealed footage of the entire attack.

Certain claims on social media suggest that Zarutska’s attacker is heard saying, “I got that white girl,” labelling the incident an “anti-white HATE CRIME,” as already seen in conservative influencer Nick Sortor’s post. However, the video is not backed any such audio.

So far, there is no credible evidence corroborating these viral allegations on social media. Authorities have yet to pin down a motive behind Decarlos Brown Jr’s actions.

Iryna Zarutska’s family speaks out

Undoubtedly, the 23-year-old’s family is demanding justice for her cruel murder. “We are heartbroken beyond words. Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way,” a family spokesperson said in a statement obtained by WSOC-9.

While adding that no family should have to deal with something like this, her relatives demanded that Brown be locked up. They also shed light on the “broader crisis in public safety and systemic failure.”

Ukrainian refugee was buried in America, family reject embassy’s intervention

After the August 22 attack, Iryna was buried in Charlotte on August 27. According to a New York Post report, her father had no choice but to stay back in Ukraine and miss her funeral. The decision was reportedly empowered by him being of fighting-age amid Russia’s onslaught on the country.

It has since also been revealed that while the Ukrainian embassy offered help to bring Zarutska’s body back to her home-country, her mother and uncle decided otherwise. “She loved America. We’re going to bury her here,” her family shared with FBI agent James Barnacle.

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On top of that, US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said in a media briefing on Tuesday that Iryna was a college graduate and right before her death she was working at a pizza restaurant. She was also helping out at a senior citizen centre and taking care of animals. Ferguson even revealed that she often travelled in the same train.

Iryna Zarutska murder: What do we know about the suspect?

Decarlos Brown Jr has had a long criminal history. He has reportedly been arrested at least 14 times. Furthermore, he was briefly committed for schizophrenia. He was arrested at the scene and initially charged with first-degree murder.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has since declared that her office had plans to purse the maximum penalty for Brown Jr. “The Aug 22 attack was a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” she said. “We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence – he will never again see the light of the day as a free man.”

Although the footage was originally made public on Friday (US time), as per the Associated Press, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles thanked mainstream media for refraining from sharing the footage “out of respect for Iryna’s family.” Some others, including MAGA allies, have since criticised Democrats and Charlotte leaders for their handling of the case.

“They are evil people. We have to be able to handle that. If we don’t handle that, we don’t have a country,” US President Donald Trump said in a speech at the Museum of the Bible in Washington on Monday. The MAGA leader also called the stabbing footage “not really watchable because it’s so horrible.”

The footage of fatal stabbing couldn’t be embedded due to X’s age-appropriate settings.