On the evening of August 22, 2025, a tragedy unfolded aboard a Charlotte light rail train that would send ripples of concern through public transit systems across the United States. Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who had sought safety and opportunity in America, was fatally stabbed as she made her way home from a late-night shift at Zepeddie’s Pizzeria. Surveillance footage captured Zarutska, still clad in her work uniform, sitting quietly before a man in a red hoodie suddenly produced a knife and attacked her. Authorities swiftly identified the alleged attacker as Decarlos Brown, who was arrested days later on a murder charge, according to Fox News Digital.
The shocking incident in Charlotte is the latest in a troubling series of violent acts on America’s public transportation networks. For millions of low- and middle-income Americans, public transit is not just a convenience but a necessity. Yet, as high-profile attacks continue to make headlines, many are left to wonder if a routine commute could turn deadly.
“Transit violence disproportionately impacts low-income and middle-class Americans because they are the primary users,” Lance LoRusso, founder of the Blue Line Lawyer Institute, told Fox News Digital. “Riders do not choose their fellow passengers and have no choice but to accept a seat next to someone who may cause them concern. The open access and utility of a mass transit system requires that anyone can ride.”
LoRusso further explained the unique vulnerability of transit riders: “All travelers are limited in their self-defense and protection strategies. For example, a person can choose not to share a city cab with another passenger, but has no such option on a city bus or train, and may have limited options should they become involved in a potentially dangerous scenario.”
Charlotte’s tragedy is not an isolated event. Just days before Zarutska’s killing, Chicago police launched a manhunt for five suspects believed to have beaten and robbed a passenger on the city’s Red Line train. According to FOX 32 Chicago, the group attacked the commuter around 7 a.m. on August 13, leaving the victim injured and prompting police to appeal to the public for help identifying the suspects. This incident followed another attack months earlier, where four individuals—two men and two women—were accused of assaulting and robbing an elderly man on the same train line. The victim’s condition remains unknown, and the suspects are still at large.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, violence struck the Metro G Line bus on September 3, 2025. A verbal altercation between two men escalated when 23-year-old Logan Dunn allegedly stabbed another passenger three times in the neck with a 4-inch pocket knife, NBC4 reported. The victim was rushed to the hospital in grave condition, while Dunn was taken into custody at the scene. Authorities have yet to provide an update on the victim’s recovery or what sparked the deadly argument.
Boston, too, has felt the sting of transit violence. In September 2024, a 74-year-old man was stabbed in the neck on a MBTA bus in Roxbury following a heated exchange with another rider. Prosecutors say Maalik Abdur-Rasheed, who had a pending case for a previous stabbing, lunged at the victim in full view of other passengers. The elderly man was hospitalized, and Abdur-Rasheed was arrested and held without bail on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault to murder, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Some of the most disturbing acts have unfolded on New York City’s subways. On May 1, 2023, a confrontation between Marine veteran Daniel Penny and Jordan Neely, a homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia, ended with Neely’s death after Penny restrained him in a chokehold. Witnesses testified that Neely had threatened passengers, shouting that someone would “die that day.” “I got scared by the tone that he was saying it,” said Ivette Rosario, a 19-year-old student, during Penny’s trial. Penny was ultimately acquitted in 2024 of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, a verdict that divided public opinion and ignited debate over self-defense and bystander intervention on public transit.
“A person on a transit system placed in a violent or threatening situation may be limited in their ability to defend themselves or even escape an attacker,” LoRusso observed. “Even other passengers may not be able to assist or summon help [for] a victim or potential victim.” He added, “Although the high presence of users is often seen as a safety net and crime deterrent, horrible tragedies have occurred on crowded trains, buses and transit stations.”
Perhaps the most harrowing case occurred in New York in 2024, when Debrina Kawam, 57, was set on fire while sleeping on a subway train in Brooklyn. According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, Sebastian Zapeta, a previously deported immigrant from Guatemala, allegedly used a lighter to ignite Kawam’s clothes. Surveillance footage showed Kawam stand and attempt to escape while engulfed in flames. She died at the scene. Zapeta was arrested hours later and charged with first-degree murder, among other counts. “This was malicious. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at the time. “This act surprised many New Yorkers as they were getting ready to celebrate the holidays, but now New Yorkers are waking up and understanding that on the 22nd of this year, this happened. This was intentional and we hope to prove this.”
In the wake of Zarutska’s killing, Charlotte city leaders are considering significant changes to bolster transit safety. Since July 2023, Professional Police Services, Inc. (PPS) has provided security for Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) properties. However, North Carolina law currently limits PPS’s authority to city-owned transit property. A new proposal, as reported by Queen City News, would expand PPS’s jurisdiction beyond transit property to include sidewalks and nearby streets around key transit centers like the Charlotte Transit Center, Eastland Transit Center, Rosa Parks Community Transit Center, the entire Rail Trail, East Trade Street, and the South End neighborhood.
The proposed resolution would authorize a mutual aid agreement, empowering PPS officers to enforce laws, make arrests, and issue citations in these extended areas. City officials argue that this expansion would help close security gaps and protect not just transit riders, but also those in the surrounding areas where many incidents tend to occur. The current contract with PPS is set to run through July 2026, with options for two additional one-year renewals. The mutual aid agreement would expire alongside the contract.
As cities across the nation wrestle with the reality of rising transit violence, the debate over how best to protect commuters has taken on new urgency. For riders like Iryna Zarutska, the promise of opportunity in America was shattered by a senseless act of violence. For city officials and transit authorities, the challenge now is to restore a sense of safety and trust for the millions who depend on public transportation every day.
