President Donald Trump said he would look into the fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman on a Charlotte light rail train after video of the attack circulated online and prompted national outrage.
Asked about the case Sunday at Joint Base Andrews, Trump said he had not previously heard of the killing but called it "horrible" and said he would "know all about it by tomorrow morning," according to his remarks to reporters. His comments came as he reiterated plans to deploy National Guard forces to cities he described as facing acute crime problems, saying he was prepared to send troops to Chicago and Baltimore and noting forces already sent to Washington.
Local authorities charged Decarlos Brown, 35, with first-degree murder in the Aug. 22 death of Iryna Zarutska, who police said had arrived in the United States in 2022. Daily Mail reporting said newly released surveillance footage shows a man approach a seated passenger and then attack her; investigators have said Zarutska died after being stabbed aboard the South End light rail train in Charlotte. Police arrested Brown shortly after the incident and a judge later denied bond, and he remains in custody.
Daily Mail reporting and a review of public records cited by the publication say Brown has a lengthy arrest record dating to 2007, including a five-year prison term for a 2014 armed robbery, an assault arrest in February 2021 and a January charge for misusing 911 in which he reportedly told officers he believed someone had given him a substance that controlled his actions. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has not released a full public timeline of Brown’s prior cases; the details above are attributed to the Daily Mail’s reporting on public records.
The footage and accompanying reporting prompted criticism of national news outlets for an initial lack of coverage. The Daily Mail noted that, as of its report, some major outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and CNN had not run stories on the killing; the Daily Mail said it contacted those organizations for comment. By Monday, the Daily Mail reported, most of those outlets had published stories after public questions and social media outrage.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles released a statement saying some publishers chose not to share the video "out of respect for Iryna’s family." In the statement, she described the attack as "senseless and tragic" and said the city would continue efforts to protect residents. Zarutska’s family described her death on a GoFundMe page as "an irreparable loss," saying she had come to the United States seeking safety from the war in her home country and was "hoping for a new beginning" when she was killed.
The release and spread of the video on social media intensified public reaction. Tesla and X owner Elon Musk reshared a post counting how many articles certain outlets had written about the stabbing, adding the comment "Zero," according to posts and subsequent reporting. Some social-media users suggested the outlets had avoided coverage for racial reasons; those outlets have not issued a single explanation framed as such in response to the Daily Mail’s inquiries, according to the Daily Mail.
Trump’s vow to "look into" the killing adds the episode to his broader public focus on violent crime and public safety, a theme he has raised in connection with his proposals to deploy federal or National Guard forces to cities and other jurisdictions. The details of any federal involvement in an investigation into the Charlotte killing, including whether federal resources would be used, were not specified in the president’s remarks.
Charlotte police have said the case remains under investigation. Prosecutors have charged Brown with first-degree murder and he is awaiting further court proceedings. Officials have not released additional investigative findings beyond the charging documents and the city’s initial statements.