Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is launching an investigation of North Carolina’s Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) following the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.
The investigation centers on the transit agency’s “security spending, safety plans, and ongoing risks to operators and customers being assaulted on the system,” a press release explains, adding that it is intended to “determine whether conditions exist that endanger transit workers and customers.”
“Despite the media and the Charlotte Mayor’s best efforts to censor this tragedy, we have all seen the horrific images of Iryna Zarutska’s last moments on this earth. Local leader’s soft on crime policies are directly responsible for Iryna’s tragic death, and they will continue to put the traveling public at risk,” Duffy said in a statement. “This administration is taking a whole of government approach to hold these progressive, weak politicians accountable for allowing violent assailants to terrorize our public transit systems. At USDOT, that means investigating CATS and other transit agencies to determine whether they are taking the necessary actions to keep riders and transit workers safe.”
The U.S Department of Justice is seeking the maximum penalty for suspect DeCarlos Brown Jr. “Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media. “I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”
