Trump calls North Carolina stabbing suspect 'animal' and calls for death penalty

President Donald Trump called for prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for the man accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee last week in North Carolina, while also calling the suspect an “animal.”

“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,” Trump wrote Wednesday in an online post on his social media platform Truth Social. “There can be no other option!”

The attack took place on a light rail train in Charlotte, and left the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, dead. The suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, was arrested and faces charges of first-degree murder.

Republicans have seized on the incident in an effort to advance Trump’s anti-crime message, and repeated pledges to deploy federal troops to Democrat-run cities like Chicago, much like he’s done in Washington, D.C.

Right-wing political activists such as Charlie Kirk and Elon Musk, as well as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have all commented on the attack, and blamed it on Democratic policies.