President Donald Trump on Monday addressed the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte, North Carolina, calling the attack an act of “evil” and urging stronger measures to prevent similar crimes, as reported by Fox News.

Speaking at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., Trump referenced the murder of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed on August 22 while riding the city’s light rail.

“We’re all people of religion, but there are evil people,” Trump said. “And we have to confront that. I just give my love and hope to the family of the young woman who was stabbed this morning or last night in Charlotte by a madman.”

This is the young woman who was murdered by a repeat violent offender. There wasn’t any words exchanged or even any kind of altercation. She simply sat in the seat ahead of him and he took out his knife then proceeded to stab her in the neck. She fled Ukraine to be safe. https://t.co/QXEgSrY7iN

— Joyce Robbins (@desertjoy1126) September 6, 2025

The suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, was arrested shortly after the attack and charged with first-degree murder. Authorities said Brown had been hospitalized following the stabbing before being taken into custody.

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“A lunatic just got up and started,” Trump said. “It’s right on tape. Not really watchable because it’s so horrible, but just viciously stabbed. She’s just sitting there.”

Surveillance footage released by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) shows Zarutska boarding the Lynx Blue Line shortly after 9:45 p.m. on August 22, wearing her pizzeria uniform and scrolling through her phone. A man in a red hoodie is seen sitting behind her.

Roughly four minutes later, he pulls out a knife and stabs her three times, including at least once in the neck. Zarutska was pronounced dead at the scene.

The video also shows the suspect removing his sweatshirt and walking through the train car while other passengers looked on.

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Trump used the incident to highlight broader concerns about crime and public safety. “So they’re evil people,” Trump said. “We have to be able to handle that. If we don’t handle that, we don’t have a country.”

Court records reviewed by Fox News Digital showed that Brown had a lengthy criminal history.

His convictions included felony larceny and felony breaking and entering in 2013, as well as a 2015 conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon, which resulted in more than six years in prison.

He was released in 2020 and remained on parole until 2021. More recent charges included communicating threats and misuse of the 911 system earlier in 2024.

Trump also connected the Charlotte murder to national policy debates, criticizing cashless bail policies adopted in several states.

“This cashless bail started a wave in our country where a killer kills somebody and is out on the street by the afternoon and, in many cases, going out and killing again, cashless bail,” Trump said.

"I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic. The perpetrator was… pic.twitter.com/4yUn0rw62k

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 8, 2025

The case remains under investigation as Zarutska’s family and community mourn her death.

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