Iryna Zarutska came to America fleeing the horrors of war in Ukraine, seeking safety and a chance to build a life. Instead, she found a violent fate on a Charlotte light rail train. She was just 23, working at a pizza shop, trying to make a start in a new country, when DeCarlos Brown Jr. stabbed her to death in a completely unprovoked attack. Brown, 34, is a career criminal with at least 14 arrests, yet he was free to roam the streets until he ended Zarutska’s life.
He’s now facing first‑degree murder charges, and federal authorities have piled on charges that could put him on death row. But that won’t bring back the young woman America failed to protect.
After ignoring the story for days, the mainstream media finally addressed it once conservative media forced the issue onto the national stage. But instead of simply reporting on the murder and the systemic failures behind it, outlets like CNN and Axios rushed to frame their coverage as yet another “Republicans pounce” story.
The New York Times got called out for ignoring the story:
George Floyd—5,897
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) September 8, 2025
Trayvon Martin—1,190
Kilmar Abrego Garcia—56
Daniel Penny—100
Iryna Zarutska—0
New York Times is propaganda. pic.twitter.com/042SZW0g3G
Well, the Old Gray Lady finally covered the major story, and its coverage was absolutely disgusting. The paper had the audacity to go with the headline “A Gruesome Murder in North Carolina Ignites a Firestorm on the Right.”
The New York Times FINALLY covered the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska and they’re blaming Republicans for noticing
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 9, 2025
You do not hate these people enough pic.twitter.com/s5ryC8jpTh
Read that again.
That framing is not only insulting, it’s dangerous. It trivializes the crime and shifts the focus away from the reality millions of Americans face in cities plagued by rising violence.
The article itself is maddening:
The outrage over the Charlotte killing is a part of a pattern in which President Trump and his allies highlight horrific crimes to bolster their case that the country is plagued by “American carnage,” as Mr. Trump put it in his first inaugural address, despite statistics that show crime is dropping. In Charlotte, overall crime was down by 8 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, according to the police, while violent crime was down by 25 percent.
The article even doubled down by suggesting the same phenomenon took place with the murder of Laken Riley.
Last year, conservatives successfully used the killing of a nursing student in Georgia, Laken Riley, by a Venezuelan immigrant who had entered the country illegally to stoke fears about immigrant crime. While some on the left point to data showing that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans, some conservatives argue that any crime committed by someone in the country illegally could have been prevented by strict immigration enforcement.
This is precisely why trust in legacy media continues to crumble. Time and again, they bury or downplay stories that disrupt leftist narratives about crime, policing, immigration, or public safety.
Related: CNN Meltdown: Panel Slams Guest for Saying Subway Murderer Should Have Been Locked Up
Iryna Zarutska didn’t flee war-torn Ukraine to become a statistic in America. She came here seeking safety, opportunity, and a future — and the system failed her. The system allowed a career criminal with a long rap sheet to walk the streets, and a young woman paid the ultimate price. Meanwhile, the mainstream, instead of confronting the cold, hard truth, sought to weaponize her death into a political talking point, framing her murder as a cudgel for partisan debate rather than the tragedy it truly was. This isn’t just a failure of law enforcement or policy; it’s a moral failure, one that leaves ordinary Americans vulnerable and disillusioned. Zarutska’s death should be a wake-up call: Unless we hold criminals accountable and demand honest coverage of the violence unfolding in our cities, more lives will be lost, and the left’s narrative of denial will bury more tragedies.
The New York Times called Iryna’s murder a “firestorm on the right”—not a tragedy demanding accountability. This is why Americans are abandoning legacy media in droves. While they spin narratives, PJ Media delivers the unvarnished truth about crime, corruption, and cover-ups. Join PJ Media VIP today with promo code FIGHT for 60% off. Support fearless journalism that puts America first.
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