President Donald Trump erupted Monday after shocking video surfaced of the brutal murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska aboard a Charlotte light rail train.
The surveillance footage is chilling: repeat offender DeCarlos Brown, Jr. casually unfolds a knife, stabs Zarutska three times — at least once in the neck — then strolls off the train as blood drips to the floor. He even peels off his sweatshirt before stepping away, weapon still in hand.
Trump responded on TRUTH Social, blasting Democrats and failed cashless bail policies for putting an innocent woman in the path of a killer.
“I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic,” Trump posted.
He pointed out that Brown had been arrested repeatedly — at least 14 times in Mecklenburg County — but was still walking free.
“The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP,” Trump wrote. “The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including Former Disgraced Governor and ‘Wannabe Senator’ Roy Cooper.”
The president didn’t stop there, demanding law and order and endorsing Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley.
“North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it! Additionally, where is the outrage from the Mainstream Media on this horrible tragedy? VOTE FOR MICHAEL WHATLEY FOR UNITED STATES SENATE, HE WON’T LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!” Trump declared.
Charlotte’s Democratic Mayor Vi Lyles, meanwhile, took a far softer tack — briefly offering condolences before pivoting to a call for more mental health resources and cautioning against “villainizing” people with mental health struggles.
The contrast could not be starker: Trump demanding justice, Democrats offering excuses.
🚨 Statement from @POTUS: pic.twitter.com/6ZsykAaPMW
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 8, 2025
