Riders weigh in on safety after deadly train stabbing

Kaci Jones,

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A deadly attack on the light rail has many people calling for changes to make public transportation in Charlotte safer. The Metropolitan Transit Commission is hosting a special meeting with Mayor Vi Lyles Wednesday morning at 9am to discuss safety and security on public transit.

WCCB spents a few hours along the light rail near the station where 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death by a stranger. We asked riders if they feel safe taking the train and the answers varied depending on who you ask, but most people say they tend to avoid the light rail after dark.

On August 22nd around 10pm, police say 34-year-old Decarlos Brown stabbed Zarutska in the neck several times on the train near the East West station. Police say brown was unhoused and didn’t know the victim.

There are questions about whether Brown bought a ticket to be on the train that night.

“Ticket enforcement and security is always good,” Amber Lynch in South end said.

“I think just enforcing more officers would, would definitely be beneficial,” Josh Lindstedt, South End Resident said.

While WCCB was in South End Tuesday afternoon, we noticed several officers at the platform near us checking tickets and removing people who didn’t pay the fare. We returned several hours later at night and we didn’t see any officers for at least an hour.

“If you throw more officers here it kind of ruins the appeal of South End. Like oh it’s sketchy it’s weird, right? So it’s a tough call to make,” Grant Farrell, South End Resident said.

Some people say they avoid the train at night.

“I kind of stopped riding it because late at night it’s not always the best feeling,” Larissa Hedderick, South End resident said.

I see a lot of [homeless people] actually, inside the bus [early in the morning and at night], some of them even ask for money,” Angelo Kitio in South End said.

CATS contracts with Professional Security Services for security along the light rail, but officers are not assigned to the train cars.