President Donald Trump on Tuesday condemned the killing of a Ukrainian refugee aboard a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, calling it an example of the dangers facing the nation.

“We have to be able to handle evil people out there, otherwise we don’t have a country,” Trump said in remarks following reports of the attack.

The incident has drawn widespread attention, both for its brutality and for the president’s comments linking it to broader concerns over public safety and national security. Local authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the murder.

“I just give my love and hope to the family of the young woman who was stabbed … in Charlotte by a madman — a lunatic,” Trump said, explaining that the man “just got up and started — it’s right on the tape.”

“[It’s] not really watchable, because it’s so horrible, but just viciously stabbed. She’s just sitting there,” he said. “So they’re evil people. We have to be able to handle that. If we don’t handle that, we don’t have a country.”

The killing occurred on August 22, 2025, when 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed at the East/West Boulevard station on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line light rail.

Police identified the suspect as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., a repeat offender with prior convictions for armed robbery, felony larceny, breaking and entering, and shoplifting, according to various reports.

WSOC correspondent Joe Bruno said they heard from the suspect’s mother, who is “not making excuses for her son,” deeming his actions “atrocious, it was horrible and it was wrong.”

He reminded his audience that he previously reported that Brown “served more than 5 years on an armed robbery charge,” and Brown’s mother said he began “saying weird things” upon his release.

“She says she got Brown evaluated but his behavior became aggressive so she got an involuntary commitment order from the courts. He was placed under psychiatric monitoring for two weeks and diagnosed with schizophrenia. But after he was released she says Brown became so aggressive she had to kick him out. He became homeless,” Bruno added.

Bruno added that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s community policing team was “well acquainted with Brown,” having encountered him three times in 2024. Others highlighted his extensive criminal record and voiced outrage that he had been released and allowed to remain on the streets.