The Justice Department charged the man accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light rail train with a federal crime on Tuesday, the latest escalation in a case that has sparked national scrutiny over what led to the fatal attack .

DeCarlos Brown Jr., 34, was charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system. The charge stems from the Aug. 22 killing of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old woman who boarded the Lynx Blue Line moments before she was allegedly attacked from behind by Brown , and could carry up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.

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