A man previously deported from the U.S. has been arrested in connection with a stabbing on Charlotte’s Blue Line light-rail system, marking the second stabbing incident on the transit line in three months, according to reporting from The Carolina Journal.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers responded around 4:50 p.m. Dec. 5 to reports of a stabbing near the 25th Street-North Brevard Street station. Officers found a victim suffering from stab wounds. The individual was transported to a hospital and listed in serious condition.
CMPD identified and arrested 33-year-old Oscar Solarzano-Garcia, who now faces multiple charges, including attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, breaking and entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon, and being intoxicated and disruptive.
Court records show Solarzano-Garcia is illegally in the U.S. and had been previously deported, according to the Journal. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Fox News that he was deported twice: once in 2018 during the Trump administration and again in 2021 under the Biden administration.
The stabbing comes only three months after 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed aboard a Charlotte light-rail train, a case that drew national scrutiny.
Brent Cagle, interim CEO of the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), told the Journal he was “disappointed” the confrontation escalated to violence. He noted that since August, CATS has increased off-duty CMPD officers, private security personnel, and technology upgrades to bolster rider safety.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said, “Everyone deserves to be and feel safe in our city, and there is no room for violence in our community.”
The incident comes shortly after U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” a citywide immigration enforcement initiative. More than 425 arrests have been made so far, according to the department as cited by the Journal.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein wrote in an X post “I just spoke with Chief Patterson about the horrific stabbing on the light rail this evening. Please join me in praying for the full recovery of the victim. I am pleased that Chief Patterson was already surging law enforcement throughout Charlotte with Operation Safe Season, and I am grateful to the state law enforcement agencies that are assisting the operation. Public safety is a top priority for us all.”
CBP’s commander at large Gregory Bovino overseeing Charlotte operations criticized Stein.
“The blood of innocents is on you,” he wrote. “We’ve shown and told you for weeks now, yet you continue choosing illegal aliens over Ma and Pa America.”
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