One year after 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed while riding Charlotte’s light rail system, her family has taken legal action against the city and its private security contractor. On August 21, 2026, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Mecklenburg County Superior Court naming the City of Charlotte and Professional Security Services (PSS) as defendants. The complaint alleges that longstanding gaps in security, staffing, and basic fare enforcement created conditions that made the attack possible.

Zarutska had come to the United States with her family to escape the war in Ukraine and was living in the Charlotte area. On the evening of August 22, 2025, she was riding the LYNX Blue Line when she was attacked and killed. Decarlos Brown Jr. was later charged in connection with her death. Surveillance video showed Brown boarding public transit without paying a fare hours earlier, transferring at the Uptown transit center, and remaining on the light rail system for an extended period before the incident. A federal judge subsequently determined that Brown was not competent to stand trial and ordered him into a multi-month treatment program intended to restore his ability to face the charges.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Lauren Newton on behalf of Zarutska’s family and estate, argues that the death was preventable. It points to what it describes as systemic failures within the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). Central among the claims is the complete absence of physical barriers that would stop unpaid riders from simply walking onto trains or buses. The complaint also highlights the near-total lack of consistent fare enforcement. According to the filing and previous investigative reporting, bus drivers had at times been instructed not to confront pᴀssengers who failed to pay.

Newton stated that these problems had existed for years and were known to city officials. She argued that violent crime on and around the transit system was foreseeable, citing earlier homicides and ᴀssaults near Blue Line stops as well as attacks on CATS employees. The lawsuit contends that the fear of confrontation with potentially dangerous riders was itself one of the reasons fare enforcement remained so limited.

A major focus of the complaint is the staffing levels of the private security firm contracted by the city. The agreement with PSS reportedly budgeted for 219 total security positions, including 39 armed officers. On the day Zarutska was killed, the company is alleged to have had only 183 personnel overall and just 11 armed guards. Newton has said that the presence of even one security officer on the train that day could have altered the outcome.

The legal action follows a recent state audit by North Carolina Auditor Dave Boliek that independently identified serious shortcomings in fare collection and security coverage across Charlotte’s public transportation network. The family is seeking monetary damages, including punitive damages against the security contractor, and has requested a jury trial. Newton has emphasized that the lawsuit is intended not only to hold the defendants accountable but also to push for lasting improvements so that other pᴀssengers are not placed in similar danger.

The City of Charlotte has declined to comment, citing the active status of the litigation. Professional Security Services had not issued a public response at the time the lawsuit was reported. Both defendants are expected to file formal answers in the coming weeks as the case moves forward.

Zarutska’s death drew widespread attention when video of the attack circulated publicly, prompting questions about safety on Charlotte’s open-boarding transit system. One year later, her family maintains that the failures that left her unprotected were neither isolated nor unforeseeable, and they are now seeking answers and change through the civil courts.

Sources: https://www.wbtv.com/2026/08/21/systemic-failures-zarutska-family-sues-charlotte-security-contractor-one-year-after-light-rail-death/