Trump asked about deadly Charlotte stabbing on light rail, here's what he said

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: President Donald Trump weighed in on the brutal stabbing on Charlotte’s light rail last month.

Trump was asked about the killing during an appearance in Maryland on Sunday, September 7, but said he hadn’t been fully briefed yet.

“I’ll know all about it by tomorrow,” Trump said when asked if he’d seen the video, before calling the incident “horrible.” The exchange came immediately after Trump’s remarks about crime in Chicago and Washington, as well as National Guard deployments to those cities.

GOP slams Charlotte Democrats after Iryna Zarutska’s Lynx Blue Line murder

The release of video footage showing the murder of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on the Lynx Blue Line lit a fire under Republicans and the White House.

Trump’s close aide Stephen Miller posted on X, “The Democrat Party at every level — judges, politicians, academics, nonprofits — is organized around the defense and protection of the criminal, the monstrous and the depraved.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also torched Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, saying she “doesn’t want the media to show you the ugly truth.” He appeared to be referencing a social post from the mayor, who had written that she wanted to “thank our media partners and community members who have chosen not to repost or share the footage out of respect for Iryna’s family.”

Duffy doubled down, saying the mayor and others “bear responsibility” for the killing because the accused murderer, Decarlos Brown, had been arrested more than a dozen times before.

He added that Charlotte “failed Iryna Zarutska and North Carolinians,” stressing that public safety must be “the top priority of elected officials.”  

Deadly light rail stabbing in Charlotte caught on video

Zarutska’s life was cut short on August 22 when she was stabbed to death near the Camden Road light rail station in South End. Police say she was sitting on the train when 34-year-old Decarlos Brown suddenly attacked, stabbing her three times in the throat with a pocketknife.

CATS released the disturbing footage on September 5, showing Brown seated on the train, jittery but not drawing attention. Moments later, Zarutska boarded with earbuds in, eyes on her phone, and sat down in front of him.

Four minutes later, Brown pulled out the knife and stabbed her in the neck multiple times. Zarutska collapsed as shocked passengers scrambled in disbelief.

Brown then calmly walked to the front of the car, ditched his sweater, wrapped his hand, and exited the train, where police were waiting on the platform to arrest him.

Friends said Zarutska had escaped war-torn Ukraine in search of safety, only to meet a horrific fate in Charlotte. “She was always very helpful, very supportive, and just had a heart of gold,” family friend Lonnie told reporters. “She was a sweetheart. And it makes me sick to think that she’s gone.”  

Suspect’s long rap sheet

Brown now faces a first-degree murder charge, and his lawyer has already filed for a competency evaluation.

This wasn’t his first run-in with the law. In January, he was charged with misusing 911. By July, prosecutors were already questioning his mental fitness in that case.

Court records show Brown has racked up 14 previous cases in Mecklenburg County. He also served six years in a North Carolina prison for robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, and larceny — convictions tied to incidents in 2013 and 2014.

CATS said it has increased security along the Blue Line, particularly in South End, where the stabbing occurred.

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