Congress will have crime hearing in Charlotte this month after light rail stabbing

Mary Ramsey, The Charlotte Observer on Sep 17, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A congressional committee will hold a hearing on crime this month in Charlotte after the murder of a Ukrainian refugee on the city’s light rail system.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a field hearing for Sept. 29, just over a month after police say 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on the LYNX Blue Line in South End. DeCarlos Brown, Jr., is charged with first-degree murder in the case. He also faces a federal charge.

Spokespeople for Rep. Brad Knott, a Republican Judiciary Committee member from North Carolina, and Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Republican who chairs the committee’s Oversight Subcommittee, confirmed the hearing. It was first reported by Fox News.

“The tragic murder of Iryna Zarutska is the culmination of years of failed liberal policies that put criminals ahead of victims. Police officers did their jobs, but the system let a repeat offender walk free, and Iryna paid the price. That should never happen in America,” Van Drew said in a statement. “As Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee, I’m holding this hearing in Charlotte to expose how blue cities keep putting career criminals back on our streets, making our communities less safe. This was entirely preventable, and we owe it to the people to fix it before another innocent life is lost.”

Zarutska’s death became increasingly politicized after surveillance footage of the killing went viral on social media.

President Donald Trump previously called for the death penalty in the case, and the U.S. Department of Transportation launched an investigation into the Charlotte Area Transit System.

Republican leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly said last week they’re looking into the local budgets of the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County