Chilling 911 calls were made after the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska. And law enforcement agents have released their audio clips to the public.
Panic and sobs could be heard in the calls, made by witnesses who watched the bleeding victim lose her life on the North Carolina train.
The Ukrainian refugee, 23, lost a lot of blood by the time bystanders intervened.
Highlights
- The chilling 911 calls made after the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska have been released by law enforcement officials.
- Callers were heard saying the victim was bleeding on the floor of the train.
- “Please hurry, she’s bleeding,” a panicked caller said. “She’s bleeding a lot.”
- Suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. was arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
The chilling 911 calls made after the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska have been released by law enforcement officials
Image credits: lucaveros225/Instagram
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
Iryna had hopped onto a late-night Blue Line train on August 22 after finishing a shift at Zepeddie’s Pizzeria.
She sat in an empty row, surrounded by several passengers, and was completely oblivious to the man sitting right behind her.
Image credits: CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT
In less than five minutes, the assailant, Decarlos Brown Jr., fatally stabbed her with a pocket knife and walked off.
As the victim lay bleeding on the floor, witnesses called 911 and reported the incident.
“A man just f***ing stabbed this woman for no reason,” one out-of-breath caller said during a three-minute call.
“Please hurry, she’s bleeding,” the panicked caller said. “She’s bleeding a lot.”
Panic and sobs could be heard in the five 911 calls that were released
Image credits: Charlotte Area Transit System
Another woman struggled to explain the train’s location to the 911 dispatcher.
“This lady just got stabbed … I’m not sure where we are. … There’s a tall building. There’s a lady on the ground. She’s bleeding a lot. I don’t think she’s responsive. There is a lot of blood,” she said.
Image credits: Charlotte Area Transit System
“Everyone is screaming. People are freaking out,” she went on to say. “There are people around her right now. She looks young … I don't know. I don't think she's responsive right now. There's a lot of blood.”
“I think she's d***. She's not responding,” she continued. “She was stabbed in the carotid [artery] I believe. There's a lot of blood. There is no pulse. I think she's gone.”
“Everyone is screaming. People are freaking out,” one caller said as the victim lay bleeding on the floor
Image credits: lucaveros225/Instagram
Other callers reported seeing the attacker and gave descriptions of his appearance.
“Some girl got stabbed on the train. I think she’s d***,” said one distressed caller. “I think the girl might be d***, man…the guy who did it is standing over here on the ramp.”
Yet another caller explained that the perpetrator was a "Black male, dreadlocks, his hair wrapped up, a black T-shirt and blue jeans. His hand is wrapped up.”
During the fifth and final call, the operator told the caller that help was on the way.
Image credits: WRAL
Iryna’s family said she was just minutes away from home when the “tragic and preventable” incident took place.
“That night, she texted her boyfriend that she would be home soon,” the family previously said. “Tragically, her journey ended in violence near the Camden light rail station.”
Image credits: WBTV News - Charlotte
The refugee left her conflict-ravaged Ukraine to build a life for herself in the US.
The 23-year-old was working full-time at the pizzeria and was taking classes to improve her English at a community college.
“She was here trying to live the American dream, and that was shattered, literally in an instant because of the lack of safety measures on the light rail,” the family’s attorney, Lauren Newton, said.
The 23-year-old moved to the US from Ukraine, hoping to “live the American dream”
Image credits: Charlotte Area Transit System
James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Charlotte special agent in charge, spoke about how the victim was merely returning home from an ordinary day at work.
“Iryna Zarutska had likely taken that train ride many times before. She was probably tired after a day at work and just wanted to go home, but tragically she never made it,” he said.
Image credits: WCNC
Suspect Decarlos was arrested on the platform after the stabbing. He is facing a federal charge for committing an act causing d**** on a mass transportation system.
The accused was previously arrested more than a dozen times for a variety of crimes, including firearms possession, felony robbery and larceny.
“We hope this federal charge will help bring her family a measure of justice, and the courts will hold the subject charged in this horrific act accountable,” James C. Barnacle Jr. said.
“Everyone in this country deserves to go to work, to school or just across town without fear of being attacked,” he added.
“It’s unbelievable that all those sitting on the train opposite to her ignored her completely,” one netizen commented online
