The man accused of turning some angry words into anotherstabbing incidenton the light rail service in Charlotte, North Carolina, made his first court appearance Monday.
Prosecutors said in court 33-year-old Oscar Solarzano has admitted to the stabbing, but the suspect was not asked to enter a plea. A judge ordered him to remain jailed without bond. He is facing five charges, including attempted first-degree murder.
Solarzano appeared from jail by video link, listening with arms crossed through the assistance of a Spanish translator.
The public defender's office declined to comment in court. Solarzano's next court appearance is set for December 30.
The Department of Homeland Security spells the suspect's name as Solorzano-Garcia; however, court documents and local police spell his name as Solarzano.
According to the district attorney's office, after Solarzano boarded the light rail train on Friday, he drank an alcoholic beverage and began yelling at a passenger. The victim told him to stop yelling and leave everyone alone. That's when the DA's office said Solarzano started drinking more alcohol and approached the victim and began arguing.
The victim, Kenyon Dobietold CNN affiliate WRALover the weekend he was trying to protect an elderly woman being screamed at on the train when the verbal attack turned physical.
"Fearing for his safety," the DA's office said the victim pushed Solarzano away, causing him to stumble and fall back over a seat. When he got up, they said he then produced a large knife. The victim attempted to back away, but Solarzano stabbed him in the chest, said prosecutors.
Solarzano fled when the train stopped at the next station, according to the DA's office. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said when they arrested him, Solarzano had slurred speech, red eyes and smelled of alcohol.
"I guess it's better off that it happened to me and not an older person," Dobie told the station from his hospital bed.
It was the second time this year there has been a high-profile case where city police responded to an innocent passenger being stabbed on the LYNX Blue Line, part of the Charlotte Area Transit System.
Friday's stabbing caps a tumultuous season for the Queen City, following the fatal stabbing of 23-year-oldIryna Zarutskaon the same rail line in August and a controversial weeklong immigration operation last month.
It is drawing even closer national scrutiny as the Trump administration says the suspect is an illegal immigrant who had previously been deported from the US twice.
Here is the latest on the most recent assault and the political debate it has intensified.
Suspect's immigration status at center of debate
Solarzano was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2018 and then deported by the Trump administration,accordingto DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. He was removed again after entering the US illegally in 2021.
Solarzano has been arrested previously in Florida and New Jersey. His criminal record dates back to 2009, when he was accused of assault and resisting arrest, McLaughlin told CNN.
In 2013, he was convicted for a robbery that inflicted bodily injury in Hudson County, New Jersey, and was resentenced to three years in prison in connection with that crime in 2017, McLaughlin said.
"Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina," President Donald TrumpwroteSaturday on Truth Social. "What's going on in Charlotte? Democrats are destroying it, like everything else, piece by piece!!!"
The president's post appeared to be referencing the fatal stabbing of Zarutska but conflating the circumstances. In that case, the victim was a legally authorized resident — a refugee of the war in Ukraine — who was allegedly killed by a natural-born US citizen, Decarlos Brown.
While the immigration status of the suspects is different in the two light rail stabbing cases this year, both involve suspects who managed to avoid responsibility for past violations, according to authorities. McLaughlin said it is not clear when Solarzano most recently came back to the US after two deportations, while Brown rarely stayed in treatment or detention for long, his familyhas said, despite a record of mental illness and violent crime.
Solarzano had been banned from the Charlotte Area Transit System property earlier this year, according to transit officials and the DA's office. The transit agency said its security team is still reviewing the details of the incident that led to the ban.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles told residents over the weekend leaders are taking security concerns seriously.
"Everyone deserves to be and feel safe in our city, and there is no room for violence in our community," Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles wrote Saturday in aposton X.
The mayor sidestepped a direct response to the controversy over immigration.
"There are several aspects of public safety that are outside of the city's jurisdiction, including immigration policy and enforcement," Lylessaid, "but we will continue to focus on public safety and ensuring a safe and vibrant community."
Immigration operation in Charlotte recently ended
Friday's assault came only two weeks after the conclusion of Operation Charlotte's Web, the immigration crackdown carried out by the Trump administration in Charlotte that DHS said resulted in more than 400 arrests.
It was the third in aseriesof prominent andcontroversialurban operations led by Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, which have also touched Los Angeles, Chicago and New Orleans. Bovino took to social media over the weekend to respond to Gov. Josh Stein's call for prayers for the victim and defense of local law enforcement.
"The blood of innocents is on you," herepliedto Stein on X. "We've shown and told you for weeks now, yet you continue choosing illegal aliens over Ma and Pa America."
The administration was also quick to weigh in on the fatal stabbing of Zarutska earlier this year, even though the allegedmurdererwas not an immigrant.
"Her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in astatementannouncing a federal terrorism charge being filed against Brown.
The Charlotte Area Transit System said it has increased safety operations since the killing of Zarutska, with greater private security and now working alongside sworn police officers.
"Since August, CATS, together with our partners, have taken a proactive and robust approach to keep employees and passengers as safe as possible by deploying additional off-duty CMPD officers, private security personnel, new technology and safety reporting tools," transit officials said in a statement.
This story was written by CNN's Andy Rose in Atlanta with reporting from Dianne Gallagher in Charlotte. CNN's Alaa Elassar, Emma Tucker, Elizabeth Wolfe, Jeff Winter and TuAnh Dam contributed to this report.
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