Violent attacks on public transit in several major U.S. cities have reignited commuter fears and intensified questions about how the justice system handles repeat offenders.
Recent cases in Atlanta, New York City, and Charlotte have drawn national attention because of the violence involved, but also because the suspects were already known to law enforcement. For many riders, the attacks have reinforced the fear that transit systems are becoming less predictable and that people with long criminal histories are still being allowed back into public spaces where they can harm others.
In Atlanta, 42-year-old Anthony Tyrone Gresham, a convicted felon from Lithia Springs, Georgia, is accused of opening fire at MARTA’s Midtown station on June 5 and wounding a 17-year-old passenger. Federal prosecutors say Gresham walked up to the train car where the teenager was sitting, pulled a handgun from his bag and fired three shots in his direction. The teen was hit in the left hand and leg and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Authorities say Gresham fled the station before police could arrest him, prompting a multi-agency manhunt that ended two days later when officers captured him in Douglasville. He now faces federal charges, including committing an act of violence with intent to cause serious bodily injury on a mass transportation system, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The shooting came just days after another attack on MARTA shocked the Atlanta area. In that case, 66-year-old Margaret Swan, a great-grandmother, was fatally stabbed in what officials described as an unprovoked attack. John Elijah Matthews, 25, a homeless man from Decatur, Georgia, was charged in a federal criminal complaint with committing an act of violence using a dangerous weapon with intent to cause death on a mass transportation system. Fulton County records also show he faces a local felony murder charge.
The two MARTA cases have put new pressure on officials to explain what is being done to protect passengers, especially at a time when riders are already uneasy about crime in and around transit stations.
In New York City, similar concerns followed a stabbing and slashing attack inside Penn Station’s New Jersey Transit concourse on June 7. Police identified the suspect as 51-year-old Hector Deleon. The attack happened shortly after 7 p.m. in one of Manhattan’s busiest commuter hubs, sending travelers running for safety and leaving five people injured. Officials said one victim suffered serious injuries, while others were treated for moderate or minor wounds.
Deleon had at least seven prior arrests, including a 2022 case in which he was accused of slashing a man in the neck. He was later sentenced to two years of probation with conditions that included mental health treatment.
One of the victims, Henry Obadiah, described walking toward the Seventh Avenue exit when he noticed two men scuffling. He said he did not think much of it at first, but then locked eyes with the attacker, who had “rage in his eyes.” Moments later, Obadiah said, the man slashed him across the mouth. He recalled that someone behind him shouted that the attacker had a knife.
Obadiah later criticized what he described as soft-on-crime policies, arguing that repeat offenders should not be free to attack strangers in crowded public spaces. His account has added to the frustration of commuters who hear officials say transit crime is down overall but still see violent attacks unfolding in places they use every day.
In Charlotte, the killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska aboard the Lynx Blue Line has become one of the clearest examples of the public’s concern. Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, is accused of fatally stabbing Zarutska on Aug. 22, 2025. Federal prosecutors said she was sitting in front of Brown when he allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed her from behind.
Brown has been charged federally with violence against a mass transportation system resulting in death, a charge that could carry life in prison or the death penalty if he is convicted. He had a history of violent crime, including assaults and robberies, and had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Despite that background, he was not in custody at the time of the attack.
On Tuesday, Brown was found incompetent to stand trial in his federal case after a mental evaluation. That followed an earlier ruling in May, when a state judge also found him incompetent to stand trial on state charges. He is expected to be committed to a special facility under the authority of the U.S. attorney general for treatment aimed at restoring his competency. If he is later found competent, the federal case could resume.
Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said Brown will remain in federal custody throughout the process. Ferguson said the government’s top priority is justice for Zarutska and her family.
The Atlanta, New York, and Charlotte cases have become part of a broader debate over public safety, mental illness, repeat offenders, and the responsibilities of judges and prosecutors. For commuters, though, the issue is much simpler. They want to know that they can board a train, wait on a platform, or walk through a station without becoming the next victim of a violent attack.
These incidents have left officials facing a hard question: whether the system can identify and contain dangerous repeat offenders before another ordinary trip turns into a crime scene.
