GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A Greenville pawn shop is now home to a mural honoring Iryna Zarutska, the woman stabbed to death on the Charlotte light rail in August.
The mural is painted on the exterior of Southern Gun & Pawn. Owner Shawn Hendrix said he saw posts by Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe and Elon Musk online pledging to donate money to paint murals of Zarutska in cities across the United States.
Hendrix said he became friends with Musk through work they did together during Hurricane Helene, which helped get his business on the list.
According to Hendrix, Musk and McCabe paid Russian artist SAV 45 $10,000 to fly to Greenville from Spain and spend four days spray painting the mural.
Hendrix said the mural’s message is one he felt compelled to support.
“If you’ve got kids… seeing somebody’s life taken on camera… I wish I’d never seen the footage. You can’t help but picture that being one of your kids in that situation. My heart just broke for her father,” Hendrix said.
Hendrix added that he was amazed when he saw the mural for the first time. SAV 45 has painted multiple murals of Zarutska across the United States, including in Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Hendrix said the mural is a story he believes everyone can get behind, but some ECU students have questioned the intent behind the effort.
ECU student Caleb Burroughs said he does not believe the mural is a genuine tribute.
“I think it’s kind of a shame that Elon Musk is exploiting a tragedy to push white nationalist narratives,” Burroughs said.
ECU student Nakai Long echoed those concerns.
“We see people like Elon Musk try to take advantage of these situations and these billionaires and the people in power really trying to manipulate them to fit their own agenda,” Long said.
ECU student Mason Kellum defended the effort, saying Musk and McCabe can spend their money however they choose.
“The fact of the matter is someone was murdered in Charlotte, and he believes it was wrong. He believes that it shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” Kellum said.
Hendrix said the message behind the mural is clear.
“You should be able to sit on a train and not worry about getting murdered,” Hendrix said.
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