Trump Condemns Stabbing

President Trump said the US must confront "evil" after the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee living in North Carolina.

Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman, fled her home country in 2023 to escape Russia's invasion and settled in Charlotte, North Carolina. On August 22, she was fatally stabbed while riding the city's light rail system in what appeared to be a random attack. Surveillance footage showed the alleged suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., pulling out a folding knife and stabbing Zarutska three times in the neck. She was pronounced dead at the scene, while Brown, a 34-year-old homeless man with a lengthy criminal history and mental health issues, including a schizophrenia diagnosis, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Trump described the suspect in the unprovoked assault as "evil" on Monday following the release of surveillance footage from the attack.

Trump addressed the incident during an event at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, saying, "There are evil people. We have to be able to handle that. If we don't handle that, we don't have a country." The attack occurred in a Democratic-led city and state, with Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and North Carolina Governor Josh Stein both Democrats. Conservative political figures shared footage of the attack and used it to criticize Democrats as being "soft on crime."

The case sparked debate about media coverage, with conservative commentators and Elon Musk accusing major news outlets of ignoring the story. Musk shared posts contrasting the coverage with that of George Floyd's murder in 2020 and called for expedited death penalty sentences in cases with "unequivocal guilt." Mayor Lyles defended the limited sharing of footage, saying media partners and community members had chosen not to repost it "out of respect for Iryna's family."

Democratic officials responded by focusing on mental health and systemic issues. Lyles said she was "thinking hard about what safety really looks like in our city" and emphasized that Brown had "a long history of mental health problems." Stein said he was "appalled" by the murder and called for more law enforcement funding, stating, "We need more cops on the beat to keep people safe."