A video of a man stabbing a Ukrainian refugee to death on a North Carolina commuter train has fueled speculation on social media over the motive for the crime, as well as a political debate about its significance.
Iryna Zarutska, 23, died Aug. 22, after a man, identified by police as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., stabbed her on a Charlotte Area Transit System train, according to an affidavit the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department filed that same night. Brown faces a first-degree murder charge.
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Despite Brown’s quick arrest, the stabbing caused a stir in recent days among mostly right-leaning or right-wing news sites and personalities who say the story is being ignored by others and is an example of the violent crime President Donald Trump is trying to address.
Trump himself noted that the video isn’t easy to watch during his Monday remarks at the Museum of the Bible.
“When you have horrible killings, you have to take horrible actions,” he said.
Gruesome killing captured on video
Zarutska immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine with her mother, sister and brother in August 2022 to escape Russia’s siege on the country, according to her online obituary.
“Iryna will be remembered for her kindness, her creativity and the lasting impression she left on everyone she met,” the obituary stated. “Her absence leaves a deep void, but her spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those who loved her.”
The evening of Aug. 22, Zarutska took a seat on a LYNX Blue Line train in front of a man later identified as Brown. Videos of the attack that flooded social media showed the man, who was wearing a red hoodie, pulling out a sharp object, lunging at Zarutska and stabbing her multiple times. He exited the car with what appeared to be blood dripping from his jacket, and Zarutska collapsed, holding her bloody neck.
Police considered Zarutska’s death a homicide, according to a Friday, Aug. 29 release.
A judge declined to set bond for Brown and committed him to a state psychiatric hospital for as many as 60 days to determine if he’s capable of standing trial, according to Mecklenburg District Court records.
Decarlos has faced a number of charges in the past, court records show. He served a five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2015 to robbery with a dangerous weapon. All other charges, except for a misdemeanor count for misuse of the 911 system, were dismissed, his plea agreement revealed.
Local news covers stabbing
Zarutska’s killing went uncovered mainly by news outlets outside of Charlotte for almost two weeks, according to Google Trends. But local outlets, including the Charlotte Observer, WFAE News, an NPR affiliate, CBS affiliate WBTV, NBC affiliate WCNC, independent station WCCB, and Fox affiliate WJZY, all reported on the case, their websites show.
The Observer reported on Sept. 3 that the city proposed a safety plan nearly two weeks after Zarutska’s death, which included a request for 200 security cameras along Blue Line stations and other measures. In the same story, Democrat Brendan Maginnis, who is running for Charlotte mayor, called Mayor Vi Lyles’ response to the incident inadequate and shared worries that the Trump administration would use Zarutska’s death as justification for deploying federal troops to the city.
Lyles’ Aug. 26 statement to WSOC, the Observer’s television partner, had condolences to Zarutska’s family. But she mainly spoke of the mental health struggles Brown reportedly faces and the troubles many people experiencing homelessness encounter.
“This is a tragic situation that sheds light on problems with society safety nets related to mental healthcare and the systems that should be in place,” she wrote. She issued a new statement on Saturday, Sept. 6, thanking those who chose not to post or share videos of Zarutska’s death out of respect for her family.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, posted Monday on X urging the legislature to pass his budget, which included funding for better recruitment and retention in the state’s police departments.
Video release fuels political commentary
The refugee’s killing rose to the national spotlight after WCNC broke news Friday about the surveillance footage that showed her stabbing, and the case was presented as an example of mainstream media bias.
AllSides reported Monday on coverage in news outlets across different political spectrums. Straight Arrow News reported on the story as being a Media Miss for the left. On X, right-wing influencers questioned a supposed lack of coverage from left-leaning and left-wing media outlets.
X personality End Wokeness commented that a number of media outlets posted zero stories on the incident. Libs of TikTok, a right-wing influencer, also posted on X, screenshots of searches on NPR, ABC News, The Washington Post and others of Zarutska’s name.
“Zero coverage of Iryna Zarutska’s m*rder on Reuters, NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, AP,” according to the post. “But they covered Jordan Neely and George Floyd extensively.”
The politicization of Zarutska’s murder has angered Kate Boguslavskaya, an influencer based in Kharkiv, Ukraine, who said people “watch Ukrainians die every day, just like Iryna” and do nothing. She denounced anyone using the refugee’s death for political gain and “stupid cultural wars.”
“Stop using a dead Ukrainian woman as fodder for your rage baiting, your conspiracy theories, your racist narratives,” Ukrainian American author Tetyana Denford wrote on X. “Say her name.”
