Former President Donald Trump has expressed condolences to the family of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was brutally killed in a stabbing on a Charlotte light rail train last month.
Shocking video of the August 22 attack began circulating online last week, sparking outrage across social media. The footage shows 23-year-old Zarutska being stabbed multiple times without warning by a man later identified as 35-year-old Decarlos Brown, who had been seated directly behind her.
“There are evil people, and we have to confront that,” Trump said Monday. “I just give my love and hope to the family of the young woman who was stabbed.”
Calling the video “almost unwatchable,” Trump described the suspect as a “lunatic” who attacked without provocation. He warned that America must take stronger action against violent offenders. “If we don’t handle that, we don’t have a country,” he added.
The former president also renewed his push to end cashless bail, blaming the policy for putting repeat offenders back on the streets. “A killer kills somebody and is out by the afternoon, ready to do it again,” Trump said.
According to an affidavit reviewed by ABC News, Zarutska had unknowingly taken a seat one row in front of Brown on the Lynx Blue Line around 10 p.m. The train had been moving for just over four minutes when the suspect unfolded a knife, paused, then stood and struck her three times.
Police say Zarutska died at the scene. After the attack, Brown was seen wandering the train holding the bloody knife before being arrested later that night. He sustained minor injuries during the incident and was treated at a hospital before being taken into custody.
Court records show Brown has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2007. He has since been charged with first-degree murder, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department confirmed.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles called the killing “heartbreaking” and offered prayers for Zarutska’s family. “I remain committed to doing all we can do to protect our residents and ensure Charlotte is a place where everyone feels safe,” she said.
Zarutska, who had fled the war in Ukraine to start a new life in the U.S., was remembered as a talented artist and compassionate soul whose “kindness, creativity, and lasting impression touched everyone she met,” her obituary stated.
