One year after Iryna Zarutska murder, violent crimes fuel North Carolina public safety debate

A year after Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light-rail train, a string of violent attacks involving people with extensive arrest records has kept North Carolina’s public-safety debate in the spotlight.

The one year milestone falls as the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police (NCFOP) endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, citing concerns about repeat offenders, bail policies and support for law enforcement.

Zarutska, 23, was sitting aboard Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line on Aug. 22, 2025, when authorities said Decarlos Brown Jr. pulled a knife and stabbed her three times from behind before leaving the train.

A Cooper campaign spokesperson disputed Effler’s claim, telling Fox News Digital the former governor “oppos[ed] cashless bail while signing stricter bail laws and putting rapists and violent criminals behind bars.”

Effler said Whatley has committed to back the Protect and Serve Act, the HALO Act and other measures the union believes would provide officers with greater protection and resources.

“Michael Whatley has committed to the things that we believe in,” Effler said. “He’ll support actions that doesn’t defund law enforcement from doing the professional job that we need to do.”

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Kelsie Cairns contributed to this report.