‘Heartbroken’ Family of Ukrainian Refugee Stabbed on N.C. Train Speaks Out on ‘Horrific’ Crime By Christina Coulter

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 transportation system,” citing a lack of visible or effective security presence on the Lynx Blue Line, failure of oversight in the contract between the Charlotte Area Transit System and Professional Security Services (PSS) and the absence of adequate safety measures they believe could have prevented the attack.

The family also asks the public and media to “respect Iryna’s dignity and [their] grief” by not reposting or circulating the footage of her death.

Zarutska had been building a new life in Charlotte, her family said, working full-time at a local pizzeria and taking community-college classes to improve her English.

On Aug. 22, she texted her boyfriend that she would be home soon; when she didn’t arrive, loved ones checked her phone location, saw it still at a train station and went there, where they learned she had been pronounced dead at the scene, according to the family’s statement.

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Authorities say Zarutska was attacked while riding the Blue Line; Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was later arrested and charged in federal court with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, a crime that could land him the death penalty, per the United States Attorney’s Office of the Western District of North Carolina.

According to WSOC-TV, WCNC and WFAE, Brown was previously charged locally with first-degree murder following his arrest by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. Per WSOC-TV, PBS NewsHour and WFAE, Brown has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night,” the family said. “We are committed to making sure this never happens again.”

CATS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.