After Decarlos Brown Jr. was arrested for the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee aboard a North Carolina commuter train, he was quickly sent to a state mental hospital for an evaluation.

Vi Lyles advances to Charlotte's mayoral general election after winning a Democratic primary overshadowed by a Ukrainian refugee's murder on a light-rail train.

North Carolina is poised to give millions to a popular reality series filming its latest season in Charlotte.

The national debate around crime and law-and-order politics has largely focused on America’s biggest cities in blue states: Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, as well as the federal government’s backyard of Washington DC.

North Carolina Magistrate Judge Teresa Stoke released DeCarlos Brown Jr. months before he allegedly murdered a Ukrainian refugee.

Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was fatally stabbed last month on the light rail in South End. The Charlotte Area Transit Authority does not believe the suspect purchased a ticket, raising questions about the light rail’s open fare system in which passengers board without first getting their tickets checked.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and Brown’s family have both said the killing is in part due to failures of the court system that has allowed Brown to re-enter the community despite a record of mental illness,