Charlotte Mayor Uses Brutal Train Murder To Lecture About Mental Health Resources

Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Vi Lyles released a statement following a brutal stabbing on the city’s public transit system, blaming the horrific situation on a lack of “social safety nets” and claiming that there was no way to “arrest our way out issues such [as] homelessness and mental health.”

Video circulated of DeCarlos Brown Jr., who was known by local police to be homeless and not mentally stable, attacking Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on August 22, while both were aboard the light rail, and stabbing her three times with a folding knife. Police said that he stabbed her at least once in the neck. As she collapsed to the floor, Brown could be seen getting up, taking off his sweatshirt, and standing by the doors. At the time of the attack, Brown was reportedly on the train without a ticket.

Lyles issued a lengthy statement several days later, only briefly mentioning the victim before launching into a lengthy diatribe on the lack of social services for men like Brown and arguing that “mental disease” should be treated like “cancer or heart disease” and never villainized.

As reported by WSOC’s Joe Bruno, Lyles began by saying, “First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to the young women’s family and friends.”

Mayor Vi Lyles has released the following statement in response to my inquiry about the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on the light rail:

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to the young women’s family and friends.

This is a tragic situation that sheds light on…

— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) August 26, 2025

Immediately afterward, she pivoted to talk about the tragedy in a broader sense.

“This is a tragic situation that sheds light on problems with society safety nets related to mental healthcare and the systems that should be in place,” she said. “As we come to understand what happened and why, we must look at the entire situation.”

She went on to say that while she did not have Brown’s full medical history, she had learned he had a history of mental health struggles and “appears to have suffered a crisis. This was the unfortunate and tragic outcome.”

Lyles said that it was wrong to question the overall safety of public transit in Charlotte, claiming that “by and large” both the city of Charlotte and the transit system were “safe” but not immune to tragedy.

“Tragic incidents like these should force us to look at what we are doing across our community to address root causes,” she said, claiming, “We will never arrest our way out issues such [as] homelessness and mental health. I am committed to doing the hard work with Mecklenburg County, community leaders, health care service providers, and the private sector to ensure that Charlotte continues to be one of the best cities in the world, with the highest quality of life for everyone.”

She then stressed the importance of “not villainizing” mental health issues in the wake of such tragedies — and argued that those who

“I want to be clear that I am not villainizing those who struggle with their mental health or those who are unhoused. Mental health disease is just that – a disease like any other than needs to be treated with the same compassion, diligence and commitment as cancer or heart disease. Our community must work to address the underlying issue of access to mental healthcare. Also, those who are unhoused are more frequently the victim of crimes and not the perpetrators. Too many people who are on the street need a safe place to sleep and wrap around services to lift them up. We, as a community, must do better for those members of our community who need help and have no place to go.”

While a report from Axios appeared to support Lyles’ argument that North Carolina is lacking in some mental health resources and homeless aid services, but Charlotte specifically is also severely under-resourced in the district attorney’s office. Some 300 homicide cases are currently pending, and the Charlotte District Attorney’s office has only 85 prosecutors on staff to manage that load.

Lyles made no mention of the fact that Brown had been in and out of jail most of his adult life, and has had 14 previous court cases in Mecklenburg County.

Brown has been charged with murder, and his attorney has already filed to have a competency evaluation completed.