On Monday, leaders in Raleigh and Durham said they're confident in the investments being made in the Triangle to prevent a similar tragedy.
"We are putting additional resources in our public safety, and we are creating programs that very specifically target issues of mental health, substance abuse, and other areas," said Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell.
For Cowell, the disturbing killing underscores some of the challenges associated with policing those in mental health crisis.
23-year-old woman stabbed to death on Charlotte train: police
"We have citizens and residents out there that need this help," she said. "So we hope we can prevent situations like what happened in Charlotte here. And we are working hard not only with our own police, but with all these partner organizations."
Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC reported that the suspect, Decarlos Brown, had a history of criminal activity and mental health issues, served five years in prison, and had several encounters with Charlotte PD's crisis response team.
Cowell said Raleigh's crisis response unit, ACORNS, and the city's partner organizations have done great work in combating mental health concerns in Raleigh.
"I think we have invested a lot, both the Wake County and the city, and resources here so that we don't have people slipping through the cracks, but we know that these are entrenched challenges," Cowell said.
In Durham, there's a similar push to find new resources for those who need help or someone in the throes of a mental health emergency.
"When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail," said Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton. "In Durham, we are committed to having many tools in our toolbox from the moment you call 911. We have folks in our 911 call center who are trained to determine what type of call it is and what's the best response."
Middleton said he was shaken by the graphic video of the attack.
"These are things that are always before us, always on our mind. And when incidents like this happen, we go back to the drawing board and we think, how can we make our streets safer?" he said.
He said the city's HEART Program -- which sends social workers and crisis teams to non-emergency mental health calls -- has received national recognition, and that the city is in the process of expanding it.
"One of the ways we can do that is through our HEART team, hopefully identifying folks before who are presenting before they get to what happened, the terrible incident in Charlotte," he said.
Recent crime reports show violent crime is down in both Raleigh and Durham since the same time in 2024.