Donald Trump reacts to Charlotte light rail stabbing and other ‘horrible killings’

President Donald Trump weighed in Monday on the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte.

Iryna Zarutska, 23, died on Aug. 22, after being stabbed in the throat by a stranger who was riding behind her on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte. Police identified the suspect in her death as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., who has since been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

News of Zarutska’s death drew national reaction this weekend after the Charlotte Area Transit System released gruesome video of the unprovoked stabbing that was then aired by local and national media. The Charlotte Observer chose not to publish the footage due to its violent nature.

“There are evil people and we have to confront that,” Trump said during a meeting of a commission on religious liberty. “I just give my love and hope to the family of the young woman who was stabbed (Aug. 22) in Charlotte by a madman, a lunatic, just got up and started to — it’s right on tape, not really watchable because it’s so horrible. But just viciously stabbed, she’s just sitting there. So they’re evil people. We have to be able to handle that. If we don’t handle that we don’t have a country.”

Later in the speech, after denouncing hate crimes against Christians, Jews and others, Trump again referenced the “horrible killing” in Charlotte “and so many others. And we will — we’re going to get to the end of it.”

“And when you have horrible killings, you have to take horrible actions. And the actions that we take are nothing.” He went on to denounce cashless bail and officials in cities like Chicago.

Zarutska emigrated to the United States from Kyiv, Ukraine, to escape the violence from Russia’s invasion of her country, her family wrote on a GoFundMe account.

The video shows Zarutska sit in a seat in front of Brown, who fixates on her and after several minutes pulls out a knife and stabs her several times in the neck, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

He exited the train at the next stop, but witnesses pointed him out to police.

Brown has a long history of being charged with crimes including felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon and communicating threats, but almost all of those charges were dropped, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

Hours after Trump’s speech, the White House released a statement about Zarutska’s death keying in on Brown’s criminal history. The Trump administration called the crime a “shocking act of evil that didn’t have to happen.”

“Despite that lengthy rap sheet, mental health issues, and forfeiting bonds on three occasions, a Democrat judge released him back on the streets following his most recent arrest in January — free to slaughter an innocent woman just months later,” the statement read.

The White House linked to a social media post from WSOC-TV reporter Joe Bruno, who detailed the long mental health and criminal history of Brown, as told to Bruno by his mother. Brown’s mother believed the magistrate should not have released Brown, Bruno reported.

Brown, who previously served more than five years in prison for a 2014 armed robbery he committed while on parole, has cycled through courts off and on over the last 10 years. During that time, magistrates have set both secured and unsecured bonds.

In January, though, he was arrested and charged with misusing 911 when he told police a “man-made material” was controlling him. On the same day he was arrested, a magistrate judge (Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes) released him on a written promise to appear. That case was moving through Mecklenburg County Courthouse. A judge had ordered Brown be mentally evaluated to determine if he was able to proceed in the legal process one month before Zarutska’s stabbing.

The White House’s statement also included a timeline of policies and funding it objects to in Charlotte.

Many Republicans including House Speaker Mike Johnson used Zarutska’s death to attack what they described as Democrats’ “soft-on-crime policies.”

Rep. Mark Harris, a Republican from Charlotte, called violence in the city a “microcosm of a national epidemic.” He posted frequently on social media about it.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, “Safety needs to be the top priority of elected officials. Citizens don’t want federal dollars going to public transportation that local leaders refuse to keep safe!”

Charlotte Observer reporter Julia Coin contributed to this article.

This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Donald Trump reacts to Charlotte light rail stabbing and other ‘horrible killings’."

Danielle Battaglia

McClatchy DC

Danielle Battaglia is the D.C. correspondent for The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer, leading coverage of North Carolina’s congressional delegation and elections. She also covers the White House. Her career has spanned three North Carolina newsrooms where she has covered crime, courts and local, state and national politics. She has won two McClatchy President’s awards and numerous national and state awards for her work.