CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The murder of Iryna Zarutska on the CATS Blue Line in August has raised concerns about rider safety as Mecklenburg County voters prepare to decide Tuesday whether to raise sales taxes to fund more public transportation .

Decarlos Brown Jr. first boarded a CATS bus at a stop across from one of Charlotte’s most prominent men’s shelters before taking it uptown and getting on the Blue Line where video captured him stabbing Zarutska. Brown was experiencing homelessness at the time and a previous arrest from January where court records claim Brown told officers on scene that he believed he had been given a “man-made” material that controlled when he ate, walked, and talked.

According to the Point in Time Count , 2,430 people are experiencing homelessnes

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