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Crime
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US crime debate intensifies after Ukrainian refugee’s murder on train

Killing surged into the spotlight after Republican lawmakers promoted CCTV video of the incident

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Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to death on a Charlotte train, in an undated picture. Photo: Iryna Zarutska/Instagram via Reuters
Agence France-Presse

The fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee in the United States has taken on sweeping political dimensions, with the American right denouncing Democrats’ supposed lack of action on crime as US President Donald Trump seeks to expand a crackdown.

Iryna Zarutska, 23, was sitting quietly on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 22 when she was attacked with no warning by a man sitting behind her, security video shows.

Her murder made little national news last month but it recently surged into the spotlight after Republican lawmakers and far-right influencers promoted the graphic CCTV video last weekend.

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Now it appears to be serving as fuel to support Trump’s plans for sending troops into Democratic-run cities such as Chicago. The operations, which Trump opponents see as an authoritarian takeover, are defended by Republicans as needed for fighting crime.
Iryna Zarutska, bottom right, before she was fatally stabbed on a commuter train on August 22. Photo: Charlotte Area Transit System via AP
Iryna Zarutska, bottom right, before she was fatally stabbed on a commuter train on August 22. Photo: Charlotte Area Transit System via AP

“They’re evil people,” Trump said on Monday.

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