Late on a quiet Saturday night, a woman waiting for a train in Chicago’s Near West Side faced every commuter’s worst fear. At around 11 p.m., a man approached her at the UIC-Halsted Blue Line station, pulled a knife from his backpack, and stabbed her in the chest before running away. Surveillance footage later showed him fleeing down South Morgan Street, the blade still in his hand.

Police describe the suspect as a tall man, about six feet, wearing a bright pink beanie and gray jacket. The woman, just 27, was rushed to the hospital and is expected to recover. But the fear remains. For many, the attack feels hauntingly familiar.

Just months earlier, Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, was brutally killed on a commuter train in Charlotte, North Carolina. A young woman who had fled war for peace, she was on her way home from work when a stranger attacked her without warning. “She was just starting her new life,” her boyfriend said in heartbreak.

Zarutska’s story moved the world — a hopeful immigrant building her dream, gone in an instant. Her family described her as “creative, radiant, and kind,” a woman who loved animals and art, and who dreamed of becoming a veterinary assistant.

Now, as Chicago reels from yet another senseless act of violence, the echo of Iryna’s loss feels sharper. Different cities, same heartbreak — reminding us how fragile everyday safety can be, and how much every innocent life matters.