President Trump weighs in on deadly light rail stabbing, new safety measures planned

CHARLOTTE, N.C – The brutal murder of a woman on Charlotte’s Light Rail Train is now getting national attention with President Trump weighing in. Close to two weeks after the murder, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles is announcing new safety measures after initially seeming to defend the suspect.

In the next two weeks, the mayor says you’ll start to see more officers on bikes and UTVs patrolling the area. The video of the deadly stabbing has federal and local lawmakers putting pressure on city leaders to make transit safer.

“A lunatic just got up and started. It’s right on the tape. Not not really watchable because it’s so horrible,” President Trump said.

Police say a man experiencing homelessness stabbed Iryna Zarutska on August 22nd on the Lynx Blue Line near the East West station. In a statement four days after the attack, Charlotte Mayor Lyles seemed to focus on the suspect’s mental health. Since then, she has been criticized for her response.

Monday Mayor Lyles released a new statement saying the city is deploying more security on bikes and UTVs along the Light Rail route. She also said, “what we know is that this was a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates.”

Court records show the suspect Decarlos Brown had a long history of violent crimes including robbery. Russ Ferguson, the US Attorney that covers the Charlotte area, says he’s looking into whether Brown could face any federal charges.
After seeing the horrible video, federal and local lawmakers are blaming policies like cashless bail and soft on crime leadership.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein responding calling on the state legislature to pass his “…law enforcement recruitment and retention package to address vacancies in state and local agencies so they can stop these horrific crimes and hold violent criminals accountable.”

The deadly attack comes as the Trump Administration vows to crack down on crime in predominantly democratic cities.

“We have to be able to handle that. If we don’t handle that, we don’t have a country,” President Donald Trump said.

On September 22nd, CATS will ask City Council to approve an agreement that lays out a plan to split patrols between CMPD and CATS security officers.