The family of Iryna Zarutska has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and its private transit security contractor, alleging systemic failures left the light-rail system dangerously unprotected on the night she was killed.
The 33-page complaint, filed one year after the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee’s murder, names the City of Charlotte and Professional Police Services Inc., doing business as Professional Security Services, or PSS, as defendants. The suit alleges PSS failed to adequately staff and deploy armed and unarmed personnel despite a contract that provided funding for 219 security personnel for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
Charlotte’s amended contract with PSS provided funding for 219 security personnel, according to the complaint, which alleges PSS had hired only 183 at the time of Zarutska’s killing. The lawsuit further alleges PSS had only 11 armed guards despite the contract providing for up to 39 armed personnel.
“They weren’t fully staffed,” Lauren Newton, an attorney representing Zarutska’s family and estate, told WBTV. “If there had been a security guard on that train, Iryna Zarutska would be here.”
The lawsuit alleges no security guard was aboard the Lynx Blue Line train when Zarutska was fatally stabbed on Aug. 22. It accuses both Charlotte and PSS of knowing or should have known about repeated criminal activity on the Blue Line and its stops before Zarutska’s death.
“Violent crime was absolutely foreseeable,” Newton told WBTV.
The complaint also takes aim at fare enforcement, alleging Zarutska’s accused killer, Decarlos Brown Jr., rode CATS transportation without paying before the attack. It alleges there were no physical barriers preventing non-ticketed riders from accessing the light rail.
“There’s been literally no fare enforcement and those things, at a basic level, are what’s necessary for safety. And there’s been none of that,” Newton told WBTV.
The estate brings claims including wrongful death based on allegedly negligent and inadequate security and gross negligence. It seeks damages exceeding $25,000 and punitive damages against PSS, but not against Charlotte.
“The family doesn’t want this to happen to anyone else’s loved one,” Newton previously told WBTV.
In the viral moment that shocked the nation, Zarutska, a 23-year-old refugee who had fled war-torn Ukraine in 2022 with her mother, sister and brother, was stabbed to death on the CATS Blue Line on Aug. 22, as she returned home from her job at a Charlotte pizzeria where she worked while attending community college to improve her English. Surveillance footage showed her seated on the train looking at her phone before Brown, 34, allegedly lunged at her from behind in an unprovoked attack. Brown had 14 prior arrests and was free on cashless bail after a January 2025 arrest for misusing 911, during which he told officers that “man-made” materials were controlling his body. His mother had previously sought psychiatric help for him, and he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Brown was later deemed incompetent to stand trial in state court and was undergoing evaluation, though federal charges against him proceed separately. A federal grand jury indicted Brown in October 2025 on charges of committing an act of violence causing death on a mass transportation system, a charge carrying the possibility of the death penalty. The killing sparked national outrage, prompted North Carolina Governor Josh Stein to sign Iryna’s Law requiring stricter bail scrutiny for defendants with mental health histories and felony records, and led White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to criticize national media coverage of the case.
Zarutska’s family issued a statement on Sept. 10, saying, “We are heartbroken beyond words. Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way.” They called for a full investigation into “lapses in security protocols and failures within the public transportation system” and urged the public and media to stop sharing footage of her death.
“This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night,” the family said. “We are committed to making sure this never happens again.”
The City of Charlotte informed reporters it does not provide comment on active litigation. Fox News Digital separately reached out to PSS and Newton for comment but did not receive immediate responses.
Brown’s state case is currently scheduled for a Rule 24 hearing, though his attorneys are asking the court to delay it by six months.