(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is demanding the suspect who was charged for fatally stabbing a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman on a Charlotte light rail 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 social media post on Wednesday.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who was arrested on Aug. 22 after he fatally stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, which could make him eligible for the death penalty, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
“This brutal attack on an innocent woman simply trying to get to her destination is an attack on the American way of life. Of course, crimes like this affect the victim the most — Iryna deserves justice, and we will bring justice to her and her family,” U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said in a statement on Tuesday.
There was no apparent interaction between Brown and Zarutska before the unprovoked stabbing, officials said.
Ferguson described the incident Tuesday as a “terroristic act” and said he and North Carolina FBI Special Agent James Barnacle Jr. spoke to Zarutska’s mother and uncle to alert them of the federal charges. Ferguson said the family is “suffering like any of us would be.”
Zarutska’s family said in a statement on Tuesday they are “heartbroken beyond words” and are “calling attention to a broader crisis in public safety and systemic failure.”
“Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way. No family should have to go through this,” the family said.
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