The American Dream Inspired Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska — Until Her Life Was Tragically Taken

The senseless killing of Iryna Zarutska has left her family shattered. This is a tragedy made all the more unbearable by the fact that they fled to the US to escape the war in Ukraine. At just 23, Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska had begun to carve out a life in North Carolina, inspired by the possibilities of the American dream. But on August 22, that promise was cruelly ripped away when she was fatally stabbed aboard a light-rail train in Charlotte. This has led to the sudden and brutal end of a journey that had already inspired so many. A Life Cut Short on the Way Home From WorkZarutska was simply trying to get home from her job at a pizzeria when she met her devastating end. On the fateful date, at around 9:55 p.m., Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers were dispatched to th