Democrats and mainstream media are under fire for staying silent on the brutal killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on 22 August in Charlotte, North Carolina. The young woman, who had fled the war-torn country to the United States in search of a better life, was stabbed to death by 35-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr on a late-night train, as shown by recently released video footage.
The surveillance video shows Brown pulling out a pocket knife and rising from his seat behind Zarutska before the footage cuts just as he prepares to plunge the blade into her. Zarutska, unaware of the killer behind her, is seen fiddling with her phone. After the attack, the suspect wandered through the Lynx Blue Line train, dripping blood across the floor while carrying the weapon. He removed his bloody hoodie and then calmly waited for the train to reach the station before exiting.
Reacting to the video, Democrat Mayor of Charlotte Vi Lyles thanked ‘our media partners and community members’ who had chosen not to repost or share the footage—a statement that drew outrage from many, including Republican members of Congress.
‘The Mayor’s refusal to condemn senseless, horrific, and preventable violence is as telling as it is despicable. Violent criminals, regardless of who they are or what they look like, need to be in jail,’ Rep Brad Knott (R-NC) wrote.
‘The violence in Charlotte is a microcosm of a national epidemic. Americans deserve better than Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies,’ added Rep Mark Harris (R-NC) in a post on X.
US billionaire and former Secretary of DOGE Elon Musk also criticized the lack of coverage by mainstream media, sharing a post tallying how many articles major outlets had written about the case, commenting simply: ‘Zero.’
British political commentator Piers Morgan likewise demanded answers on why Zarutska’s killing drew so little national media attention. On X, he called the murder ‘disgusting, senseless, [and] unprovoked’ and asked why the story had not dominated headlines.
Moreover, right-wing political commentator Benny Johnson accused Wikipedia of trying to erase the tragic story of Iryna Zarutska.
Speaking to reporters on 7 September, US President Donald Trump promised to personally look into the case, calling the attack ‘horrible’. The incident comes as Trump is cracking down on rising crime rates in major US cities, such as Washington, DC—a move opposed by many Democrat lawmakers.
The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr, is charged with first-degree murder. According to court records, Brown has been arrested multiple times since 2011 on charges including felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and making threats—yet almost all charges were dropped.
Related articles:
