NEED TO KNOW

Iryna Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on Aug. 22 on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line

Her family demands stronger security and oversight

Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, faces federal and local murder charges

The family of Iryna Zarutska — the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light rail train — is speaking publicly, calling her death “the most horrific way” to lose a life.

“We are heartbroken beyond words,” the family said in a statement sent to PEOPLE by an attorney representing the family. “Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way. No family should have to go through this.”

They are also calling for a full investigation into “lapses in security protocols and failures within the public tran

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