EDITOR’S NOTE: This version has been edited to correct grammatical errors included in the original report published on The Center Square.
(The Center Square) – Chilling video of the Aug. 22 stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail has drawn increased awareness of the incident.
Included are social media audiences wondering about the lack of national mainstream media coverage, and second-term Republican President Donald Trump. He’s not only vowed to crack down on crime but also sought to take action, including the use of National Guard troops in certain cities.
Zarutska, 22, boarded the Lynx Blue Line about 10 p.m. on Camdem Road near the South End crossing of East Boulevard and West Boulevard, according to the Charlotte Area Transit System video. She took one of two empty seats in front of Decarlos Brown Jr. and appeared to be on her cellphone.
The video does not appear to show any interaction between them until he stands up and attacks from behind about four minutes later.
“The video of the heartbreaking attack that took Iryna Zarutska’s life is now public,” said Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles in a statement released Saturday. “This was a senseless and tragic loss. My prayers remain with her loved ones as they continue to grieve through an unimaginable time.”
She assured commitment to Charlotte, the nation’s 14th largest city with a population of about 925,000, remaining “a place where everyone feels safe.”
Trump, speaking Monday to reporters, was mistaken about when Zarutska was killed. His response was unmistakable.
“There are evil people, and we have to confront that,” he said. “I just give my love and hope to the family of the young woman who was stabbed this morning or last night in Charlotte by a mad man.
“She was just sitting there. There are evil people. We have to be able to handle that. If we don’t handle that, we don’t have a country.”
Brown, 34 and reportedly homeless, is charged with first-degree murder. His lawyer filed a motion to evaluate competency. Brown has previously had 14 cases in Mecklenburg County, ranging from assault and making threats to armed robbery and felony larceny, and he’s served a five-year sentence.
Zarutska, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple stab wounds. A GoFundMe page for expenses to help her uncle and his wife said she had recently arrived in the United States from Ukraine, “seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning.”
GoFundMe on Monday removed a fundraiser for the legal defense fund of Brown. The page said fiscal support would help “to stop the injustice against Decarlos Brown Jr.”
GoFundMe, in a statement, said terms of service prohibit fundraisers toward legal defenses of those “formally charged with an alleged violent crime.” The engagement site says 30 million people sent or received help from GoFundMe in 2023, with donation frequency averaging two per second.
— Alan Wooten, The Center Square
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