The mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, is under fire for her comments about the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on public transport in which she referred to the suspect's mental health issues.

Vi Lyles, a Democrat, faced criticism for her statement following the release of surveillance footage which showed Iryna Zarutska on a train on August 22 sitting in front of Decarlos Brown Jr. before she was stabbed .

Newsweek has contacted Lyles' office for comment outside of office hours.

Why It Matters

Video of the attack on Zarutska went viral. As well as being a tragedy in which a Ukrainian refugee had fled war only to be killed in the U.S., Lyles' statement was condemned for relegating concerns for the victim compared with the attacker.

Lyles' statement about mental health serv

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