Why a stabbing in Charlotte sparked a political firestorm nationwide

Last month, a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman who came to the U.S. to flee the war with Russia was fatally stabbed on a light rail train in Charlotte. 

Though it received little national attention for a few weeks, in the last few days, the stabbing has sparked a political firestorm across all levels of government, from Charlotte, to Raleigh, to Washington, D.C. and beyond. 

WRAL Political Reporter Paul Specht joins us now to talk about why politicians on either side of the aisle are paying attention to this specific case. 

The WRAL Daily Download is an in-depth conversation about a single news story. WRAL covers news across North Carolina every day, but this podcast focuses on one story at a time, bringing context to each conversation. The in-depth, localized podcast takes you into the latest stories from Raleigh, Durham, and the entire Triangle region on North Carolina. This is community news aimed at keeping you informed about the more subtle stories that are happening around you. Hosted by WRAL News journalists, episodes post weekdays by 4:30am.