"They don't deserve taxpayer money": DOT issues warning to unsafe cities

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Sean Duffy, issued a warning to mayors across the country: if they fail to ensure passenger safety on trains and buses, they could lose access to federal funding.

Duffy stressed that the Trump Administration maintains a "zero tolerance" policy toward crime on public transportation systems funded with taxpayer dollars. "If mayors can’t keep their trains and buses safe, they don’t deserve the taxpayers’ money," the official said.

Charlotte murder investigation

The DOT announcement follows the murder of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old woman who was stabbed Aug. 22 at the East/West Boulevard station of the Lynx Blue Line light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested and faces murder charges. Brown has an extensive criminal history, including a conviction for armed robbery, and has accumulated more than a dozen mugshots before this attack.

National Reactions

Duffy confirmed that the DOT will investigate the city of Charlotte for security failures and will also review the situation in other localities with high levels of crime on their public transportation. "No American should be put in that position [of feeling unsafe], and the Trump administration will do everything in its power to change that," he added.

President Donald Trump also condemned the crime, describing it as a "horrible" act committed by a "lunatic," and expressed sympathy for the victim's family.