Tipsheet

A Democratic Mayor's Disgraceful Reaction to an Avoidable Murder in Her City

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  September 08, 2025 12:01 PM

A young woman who fled war-torn Ukraine to the United States, only to be murdered in cold blood while riding public transit.  This horrifying story is reminiscent in some ways to the terrible killing in Washington, DC of a man who served as an interpreter for the US military in Afghanistan.  He escaped the Taliban, then was carjacked and murdered in the capital city of the country he saw as a safe haven for himself and his family.  The new crime in question occurred late last month in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Twenty-three-year-old Iryna Zarutska was minding her own business on the city's transit system when a multiple-time criminal came up behind her and stabbed her to death, totally unprovoked.  This suspect had 14 prior arrests before he slashed a stranger in the throat for no reason.  She was declared dead at the scene.  Per one prosecutor, the assailant "had a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2011. The murderer had been convicted of robbery with a deadly weapon; burglary; larceny; and, assault. He had served approximately 6 years in prison. At the time of the murder, he had an open case for assaulting a female victim and was OUT OF CUSTODY pending a court-ordered forensic evaluation."

The reason the brutal and senseless slaying is getting newfound attention -- it garnered very little national media attention when it occurred, likely due to the inconvenient and unhelpful racial dynamics -- is because surveillance video of the atrocity has now been published on social media.  Even the still frame images are chilling. Charlotte's Mayor, a Democrat named Vi Lyles, is upset that the extremely graphic and disturbing video has entered the public domain:

The attack was not merely "heartbreaking."  It was enraging and preventable.  The mayor's statement is still preferable to her initial response to this heinous crime, as described by Charlotte's local NPR station.  This represents everything that's wrong about the Left's "equity"-obsessed, soft-on-crime, perverted vision of "criminal justice:"

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles is calling the fatal stabbing of a young woman on the city’s light rail system a “tragic situation” that underscores broader challenges with mental health and homelessness...In a statement Tuesday, Lyles did not mention the victim by name or discuss any specific measures the Charlotte Area Transit System or police are taking to address safety on public transit. She focused on the suspect and urged others not to demonize homeless people. Lyles said the suspect appeared to have struggled with mental health and suffered a crisis. She said Charlotte and its transit system are “by and large" safe, but the incident highlights the need for stronger support systems. “We will never arrest our way out of issues such as homelessness and mental health,” Lyles said. "Mental health disease is just that — a disease like any other that needs to be treated with the same compassion, diligence and commitment as cancer or heart disease." Lyles added that people living on the streets are more often the victims of crime than the perpetrators, and said she is committed to working with county officials, health care providers and community leaders to improve services.

An appalling reaction.  She failed to even mention the name of the actual victim, whose life was stolen from her, while lecturing people not to "demonize" homeless people like the killer.  No mention of his many previous arrests.  She said nothing in the way of specific steps to enhance crime prevention, but talked about "compassion" and "commitment" for the homeless population while pleading to "improve services" for them.  As we saw from Democrats in Tennessee and Minnesota in the immediate aftermaths of deadly school shootings by trans people who targeted Christian children, the instant impulse is to scold the public against blaming the murderers' identity groups.  Same phenomenon here. Of course we should oppose collective punishment and demonization.  But the victimhood inversion nonsense is toxic.  The Left's woke, crime-indulgent identity fixation is the priority; not public safety.  Their instincts around true victims versus identity victims is deeply warped.  Relatedly, when horrific incidents fail to align with the Left's (and therefore the 'news' media's preferred narratives, the resulting coverage -- or lack thereof -- often reflects that:


Recommended

Why France's Government Collapsed Today Matt Vespa
NBC Poll Reveals Stark Values Divide Between Young Trump and Kamala Voters Sarah Arnold

This sort of 'national conversation' might be undesirable for many journalists because it might jeopardize Democrats' chances of regaining control of the US Senate next year:

DeCarlos Brown Jr., a dangerous career criminal, should have been behind bars years ago, but my opponent Roy Cooper's lenient 2020 executive order kept him on the streets, endangering communities. In June 2020, Cooper signed a soft-on-crime executive order, and just three months later, Brown was released from prison. Since then, Brown has been arrested and released three additional times between 2021 and 2025, taking full advantage of Cooper's weak policies. Cooper bears direct responsibility for this heinous act and must answer to the public about why he prioritizes criminals over public safety.

Whatley is the Trump-endorsed GOP nominee trying to hold seat currently occupied by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.  Cooper is the Democrat in the Senate race and state's former governor whose crime policies are now under scrutiny, as is his administration's poor handling of last year's devastating hurricane damage.  I suspect North Carolinians will see clips and images from the tweet embedded above in political ads, as they very well should.  Now read this, from the state Republican Party.  Look at all those mugshots:


I'll leave you with this, which frames the attacker as the victim of "racism." GoFundMe has shut down other fundraisers deemed 'problematic' in the past. How can this one stand?