CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- A preliminary report from the North Carolina State Auditor’s Office has raised questions about security staffing and contract practices at the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), following the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on the light rail.

According to the audit released on Tuesday, there was a 40% drop in armed security personnel over recent years, despite the overall cost of security contracts tripling.

In 2018, the report states that CATS had around 68 to 88 armed guards under its contract with G4S Secure Solutions. Now, under the current contract with Professional Security Services (PSS), only 39 armed security officers are assigned to protect the system, which includes 48 train cars and over 3,000 bus stops across a 675-square-mile service area.

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