A Charlotte City Council member on Tuesday rejected calls to deploy the National Guard to the city following the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a light-rail train, saying overall crime statistics do not justify that step but are "paper-thin" when measured against residents' lived experience.
Councilman Edwin B. Peacock III, a Republican, told Fox News he opposed bringing the Guard in "at this time… simply because crime in Charlotte statistically is down like it is around most of the country," while warning that numbers alone will not comfort victims or people who feel unsafe.
The comments come amid a national debate over public safety after 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, was stabbed to death on the Lynx Blue Line on the night of Aug. 22. Surveillance footage released by the Charlotte Area Transit System shows Zarutska sitting on the train shortly after 9:45 p.m. before a man later identified as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. unfolded a knife, stood and stabbed her multiple times, according to transit agency footage. Some news outlets paused the footage before the moment of the attack.
Brown has a long arrest record that includes convictions for felony larceny and felony breaking and entering in 2013 and a 2015 conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon that resulted in more than six years in prison, according to records obtained by Fox News Digital. Federal authorities have indicated the case will be scrutinized for broader implications, officials said.
Peacock said council members have received a "deluge" of emails and letters from residents in the wake of the killing and urged colleagues to back the mayor's initiative to increase police presence on trains and to enforce fare payment more strictly. Charlotte's light rail operates on an open platform system, Peacock noted, meaning there is minimal fare enforcement and a perception among riders that the service is free.
"The message to most riders is that this is a free ride, and it's not," he said. "If you don't pay, you won't ride." He also pointed to perceived failures in the court system and urged enforcement of existing laws as part of a response to random violent acts.
President Donald Trump has proposed deploying National Guard troops to cities around the country as part of a broader plan to combat violent crime. Peacock acknowledged the national conversation but said Charlotte's local data do not support a Guard deployment at this time, even as he described the city's crime problem as real and requiring concrete, targeted measures rather than an immediate military presence.
Local officials have said they are coordinating with state and federal investigators as the case proceeds. The stabbing has amplified calls from some local leaders for more visible transit policing, better enforcement of existing laws, and review of security measures on open-platform systems.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officials have not publicly disputed the councilman's assessment about overall crime statistics but have said they are focusing resources on the investigation and on measures intended to increase rider safety. The attack and its aftermath have intensified scrutiny of how cities balance crime statistics, public perception and operational changes to mass-transit systems.
The killing has also fed into a wider national debate about public safety and the appropriate use of state or federal assets in cities. Advocates for increased transit policing say higher officer presence can deter violence and increase rider confidence; civil liberties groups and some transit advocates caution that heavy-handed enforcement can disproportionately affect marginalized riders and call for a mix of prevention, social services and targeted enforcement.
As investigators continue to examine the circumstances of the attack and leaders debate policy responses, the Charlotte council member said elected officials must deliver measures that can actually be implemented and enforced locally rather than rely solely on headline-grabbing solutions. "If someone doesn't feel safe in our city, statistics aren't going to help a victim like this," Peacock said.