This booking photo provided by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, shows Decarlos Brown Jr., who is charged with the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office via AP)US President Donald Trump has said that the suspect who fatally stabbed a Ukrainian woman on a Charlotte light rail should be awarded the death penalty.“The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY. There can be no other option!!!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.Killing of Iryna ZarutskaIryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was stabbed to death on Charlotte’s light rail on August 22. The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr, was arrested on the same day and has been charged with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, which could make him eligible for the death penalty.The 34-year-old is a repeat criminal offender and attacked Zarutska in an unprovoked attack.Blame game over Zarutska’s deathThe killing of Zarutska has also triggered a political blame game, with Transportation Secretary Duffy announcing a security probe. Duffy also threatened to pull federal funding if his department’s investigation finds security problems in the North Carolina city’s mass transit system.Duffy blamed her death on the “soft on crime policies” of local leaders and said this continues to put the traveling public at risk. His department said there have been six attacks on transit workers in Charlotte this year, up from just one last year, and higher than the national average.Duffy and Trump are pointing to last month’s killing of on a train as evidence that cities led by Democrats aren’t doing enough to combat crime.Story continues below this adDemocrats, on the other hand, say Republicans share blame for the deadly violence in North Carolina.They say the GOP is misleading the public while failing to support law enforcement with more funding in a state budget that the Republican-controlled General Assembly was supposed to approve months ago.The US Senate campaign of Democrat Roy Cooper points to what it considers his long history of fighting crime as governor and attorney general. Cooper’s likely Senate rival, the former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley, tried to link the violence to Cooper’s creation of a task force on solutions to racial bias in the criminal justice system. But Cooper never gave the task force any authority to release state prisoners.Charlotte, NC, Mayor Vi Lyles posted an open letter on social media late Monday, calling the refugee’s death a “tragic failure by the courts and magistrates.”Story continues below this ad“Our police officers arrest people only to have them quickly released, which undermines our ability to protect our community and ensure safety,” Lyles added. “We need a bipartisan solution to address repeat offenders who do not face consequences for their actions and those who cannot get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets.”Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:donald trump