Trump cites Ukrainian woman’s murder in push for broad crime crackdown
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ms Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was murdered in public on Aug 22, had come to the US three years ago with her mother.
PHOTO: IRYNA ZARUTSKA/ INSTAGRAM
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Sept 8 condemned the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian woman aboard a North Carolina train, as he and his allies sought to use the murder to justify plans to expand his crime crackdown in Democratic-led cities.
The killing, which took place on Aug 22, gained national attention over the weekend after the authorities released surveillance video of the gruesome slaying.
The clip shows a man with a pocketknife attacking 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska without warning while they were riding a Charlotte Area Transit System light rail train.
In remarks at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, Mr Trump drew a connection between the slaying and his threats to deploy federal agents and National Guard troops to Chicago and other Democratic-run cities.
He dispatched the National Guard to the nation’s capital
“When you have horrible killings, you have to take horrible actions,” the Republican leader said, before referring specifically to Chicago, which he has targeted in speeches and social media for weeks.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, both Democrats, have rejected Mr Trump’s characterisation of the city as crime-ridden and urged him not to deploy troops.
Ms Zarutska, who went by the name Ira, had come to the US three years ago with her mother, sister and brother seeking safety from Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to an obituary.
She was a “gifted and passionate artist” who had earned a degree in art and restoration from a Kyiv college and dreamed of becoming a veterinary assistant, the obituary said.
The suspect in the case, identified by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police as Decarlos Brown, 34, has been charged with first-degree murder.
A judge has ordered him committed to a local hospital for at least 60 days for psychiatric evaluation, court records show.
Brown has a long criminal history and spent several years in prison for armed robbery, according to court records.
His most recent prior arrest came in January for misuse of 911, after he called the police to investigate what he claimed was a “man-made” material someone had put in him to control his behaviour, according to court records.
He was released by a magistrate judge and later ordered to undergo a mental health screening, with the charge still pending.
Mr Trump and his allies have used the murder to argue in favour of expanding his Washington crackdown elsewhere.
Statistics show violent crime has decreased in both the District of Columbia and Chicago, though they have higher murder rates than some other big cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
Several Trump administration officials attacked Charlotte’s Democratic leaders, arguing that Brown should have been behind bars.
“By failing to properly punish him, Charlotte failed Iryna Zarutska and North Carolinians,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on social media platform X on Sept 7.
Mr Stephen Miller, a senior White House adviser, attacked Democrats in a post for what he asserted were pro-criminal policies.
In a statement after the video’s release, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, said: “Like so many of you, I’m heartbroken – and I’ve been thinking hard about what safety really looks like in our city. I remain committed to doing all we can to protect our residents and ensure Charlotte is a place where everyone feels safe.”
Violent crime in Charlotte declined 25 per cent during the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to the police department. REUTERS
