JUST IN: New Footage Suggests Charlotte Slasher’s Attack Was Racially-Motivated

Video released on Friday by the Charlotte Transit Authority appears to suggest that the killer in a horrific train attack last month may have been racially motivated to target a white woman sitting just in front of him.

DeCarlos Brown, Jr., a criminal with a long rap sheet who suffered from schizophrenia, is charged with the murder of Iryna Zarutska on Aug. 22 after boarding a late-night train while muttering to himself about her race. The video sheds new light on what may have compelled Brown to slash her throat, leaving her shocked in her seat before she collapsed and bled to death on the floor of the vehicle.

Video posted to WBTV’s YouTube page shows Brown speaking to himself before the attack and leaving the train afterward.

“I got that white girl, I got that white girl,” Brown said after stabbing Zarutska in the neck and backing away as other passengers rushed to her aid. He moved over to the door and waited for the train to come to its next stop before exiting.

The incident went viral on social media after it was shared in a public records request and highlighted by Elon Musk. It has taken on a racial lens as commentators frustrated with the lack of mainstream media attention accused outlets of initially ignoring Brown until he was singled out this week by the White House.

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Others have compared the lack of attention to higher profile cases of white passengers like Daniel Penny, who was charged with the murder of Jordan Neely, a black, mentally ill street performer whom he put in a chokehold after he threatened several passengers on a New York subway train.

Penny, a Marine veteran, was eventually found not guilty following a jury trial and public outcry over his arrest.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he had seen the horrific video, and on Wednesday called for federal prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for Brown.

“I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets?”

Trump went on to say that he saw blood “dripping from the killer’s knife” and accused North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of having her “blood” on his hands.

“This monster had a track record longer than a CVS receipt, including prison time for robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, and larceny,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted, the Daily Caller noted. “By failing to properly punish him, Charlotte failed Iryna Zarutska and North Carolinians. This is totally unacceptable! Safety needs to be the top priority of elected officials. Citizens don’t want federal dollars going to public transportation that local leaders refuse to keep safe!”