'Savage, bloodthirsty criminals': Trump condemns killing of Ukrainian refugee in new video; blames Democrat-run cities

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday condemned the brutal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train, calling the attack the result of “savage, bloodthirsty criminals” roaming freely in Democrat-run cities.In a post on X, the White House said, “President Donald J Trump denounces senseless crime in Democrat-run cities & the horrific murder of a young woman in Charlotte by a deranged criminal monster. It's time to stop this madness. The people of our country need to insist on protection, safety, LAW & ORDER.” The post included a video of Trump commenting on the incident.

In the video, Trump said, “For far too long Americans have been forced to put up with Democrat run cities that set loose, savage, bloodthirsty criminals that prey on innocent people.”He continued, “In North Carolina, Charlotte, we saw the results of these policies when a 23-year-old woman who came here from Ukraine met her bloody end on a public train and here's a picture of it and this is a picture of the woman. She was slaughtered by a deranged monster who is roaming free after 14 prior arrests. We cannot allow a depraved criminal element of violent repeat offenders to continue spreading destruction and death throughout our country.

”Early Tuesday, Trump also posted on Truth Social, directly criticising the Democratic Party and describing the attack in detail. He wrote, “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.”Blaming Democrats, Trump added, “The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail.”A chilling video circulating on social media shows 23-year-old Zarutska riding a Charlotte light rail train just moments before the fatal attack. Police-released footage captured her scrolling on her phone when 35-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr suddenly pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed her multiple times.After the assault, Brown was seen walking through the Lynx Blue Line train carrying the knife, as blood pooled on the floor. Passengers noticed the trail of blood while the suspect removed his hoodie and waited to exit at the next stop.