On the evening of August 22 in Charlotte, 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska died from stab wounds on a city train. According to police, the fatal attack was carried out by a 34-year-old African American man with a criminal record. Yet Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times, and other major outlets did not report the incident.
On social media, commentators note that the silence may be explained by the attacker’s identity: when the victim is African American, tens of thousands of articles are published, but when the perpetrator is—there is none at all.
Twenty-three-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on a light rail train. Police said the attack was sudden and carried out by a homeless repeat offender.
Zarutska, who had fled Ukraine because of the war, boarded the Lynx Blue Line train at 9:46 p.m. on August 22, returning from her job at a pizzeria. Footage shows her taking a seat and looking at her phone, unaware of the danger behind her. Minutes later, according to investigators, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. suddenly pulled out a folding knife and stabbed her three times, at least once in the neck.
A video shows the man removing his sweatshirt after the attack and standing by the doors as passengers began to notice the blood on his hands. Zarutska, clutching the wound on her neck, slumped in her seat and soon died at the scene.
Just four minutes later, police said, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. pulled out a folding knife and struck three times, at least once in the neck.
CATS via wbtv
Surveillance footage shows Brown Jr. sitting behind Iryna Zarutska on the North Carolina train before pulling a knife and stabbing her.
CATS via wbtv
Brown left the train at the next stop. A knife was later found near the platform. He was taken to a hospital with a cut on his hand, then taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. Police said he has a long criminal record dating back to 2011, including theft, armed robbery, and threats. He previously served five years for armed robbery. In January, he was arrested for making false 911 calls, claiming at the time that "an artificial material" inside his body was controlling his movements and speech.
Security guards were on the train at the time of the attack, but in a different car. Police arrived six minutes after the emergency call. The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) said that following the tragedy it had hired a new head of security, tripled the security budget, and begun replacing outdated cameras with modern ones. On September 22, Charlotte’s city council will review a proposal to expand police patrols on public transport.
Video shows Brown walking through the train car, removing his sweatshirt, and stopping by the doors as passengers began to notice blood dripping from him.
CATS via wbtv
Despite the public outcry, America’s leading media outlets did not report the incident. Associated Press, known for its Democratic leanings, did not publish a single article about it. The killing of the Ukrainian woman was also ignored by at least CNN and The New York Times.
Updated
Donald Trump offered condolences to the family of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was killed in an attack on a Lynx Blue Line train in Charlotte.
The US president called the suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., a "madman" and a "psycho," stressing that the footage from the scene was "impossible to watch" because of its brutality.
"I want to express my love and hope to the family of the young woman who was stabbed in Charlotte by a madman, a psycho. He just stood up and started acting—it was caught on video. It is impossible to watch, because it is horrible. She was sitting there, and she was brutally stabbed. These are evil people. We must be able to deal with this. If we cannot deal with this, we will not have a country," Trump said.
The Murder of Iryna Zarutska

Police Released Full Footage of Iryna Zarutska’s Killing in the U.S., With the Killer Facing Life Imprisonment or the Death Penalty

Ukraine’s Embassy and Major Ukrainian Media Have Not Mentioned the Incident Even Once

The Death of a Ukrainian Refugee in Charlotte Did Not Enter the Agenda of Major Liberal Media

The Story Is Being Ignored Because It Does Not Fit the Usual Narrative: the Victim Was a White Woman and the Perpetrator a Black Repeat Offender

Murder of Ukrainian Refugee in Charlotte Intensifies Dispute Over Democrats’ “Soft” Policies

Trump Accuses Them of Enabling Criminals, While Senator Tillis Had Already Opposed Federal Control of the City

Ukraine Denied Irina Zarutska’s Father Permission to Travel to the US for Her Funeral

Her Relatives Publicly Criticize the Court’s Decision to Release the Repeat Offender and Point to the Inaction of Train Passengers During the Attack

Who Is Decarlos Brown Jr. and Why Was He Free After 14 Arrests

The Life and Story of Iryna Zarutska

She Sought Protection in the US but Found Herself Most Defenseless There—While for Liberal Politicians and Media the Story Proved Inconvenient and Quickly Vanished From the Agenda in Both the US and Ukraine

Zarutska’s family launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe, which has already raised more than $38,000. The appeal states that she "recently arrived in the US, seeking refuge from the war and hoping for a new beginning. Tragically, her life was cut short far too soon."