A man with a history of nine arrests in the past three years has been apprehended in Charlotte following an incident captured on social media that allegedly shows him punching a woman. The assault occurred in the same city where Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, was fatally stabbed last year.
Di-Quan Schafar Hunt, 32, was taken into custody by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on Thursday evening. According to police, the July 30 assault involved Hunt screaming at a woman before striking her and then fleeing the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital with injuries described as serious but not life-threatening.
A video shared on social media platform X purportedly shows Hunt yelling at a woman passing by, then sucker-punching her to the ground. The video continues with Hunt standing over the fallen woman, speaking to her before slapping her. Police are also examining other videos that may show Hunt committing similar assaults on women, which authorities believe he recorded himself.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office records indicate Hunt’s prior arrests include charges for trespassing, simple assault, assault on a female, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer, violating a protective order, contempt of court, breaking or entering, and probation violations. In 2020, he was convicted of shooting into an occupied building or vehicle, and in December, he was arrested on accusations of threatening a man with a knife near a Charlotte public transit line.
Authorities stated that Hunt would be transferred to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office and charged with assault with a deadly weapon once he is released from a medical facility where he was taken for treatment. A spokesperson for the police department indicated that they anticipate more cases based on the available videos but currently lack additional information. The department has appealed to the public for any information regarding potential assaults.
This arrest occurs less than a year after Zarutska, 23, was stabbed on a public transit train in Charlotte. The suspect in that case, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., 34, also had a significant arrest history, with 14 previous arrests, including charges for violent assaults. The Zarutska stabbing garnered national attention due to its seemingly random nature and the suspect's repeated encounters with law enforcement.