On August 22nd, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina Iryna Zartuska a Ukrainian refugee was fatally stabbed on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. Moments before the incident she had stated that the man was acting weird toward her. When she stated the man was acting weird she was talking to her boyfriend. She had alerted her boyfriend she would be home shortly. She did not return home.
Zartuska, her Mother, and Brother had all escaped the war in Russia and Ukraine. Her family arrived in America in 2022 that is when she met her boyfriend and continued her life in America. Her lawyer referred to her as “Kind, and hard working girl.” The man behind her stabbed her three times in the throat in an unprovoked attack. While she was being attacked there were bystanders who watched and did not help her. There was also no security on the train at the time of the attack. (CNN). When officials arrived at the scene she was pronounced dead. This attack could result in the death penalty. “ A penalty that President Trump supports” according to CNN.
The man who fatally stabbed her has a history of violent crimes. His history of violent crimes date back to almost a decade ago. Including a felony robbing a felony for breaking in and many other different charges His family stated that “he had been suffering from mental health problems.” According to NBC news Jason Simmons.
There has been a lot of talk about this attack. The reason there has been so much political intervention is because she was a refugee from Ukraine. There has also been political intervention from the judicial system because the man who stabbed her had a criminal background. The judicial system in North Carolina is working on this case to figure out what his charges should be. The political parties in the white house both have different views on the war in Russia and Ukraine. What happened to Iryna should happen to no one. With her getting stabbed it raised awareness to the communities.
