A man has been seriously injured in a stabbing on Charlotte's light rail system, in an incident bearing chilling similarities to a fatal attack on the same line just three months earlier.
Details of the Latest Attack
The victim was riding the city's blue light rail line when he was attacked on December 5. Emergency services found him with a stab wound near a train station shortly before 5pm and rushed him to Novant Health Presbyterian Hospital.
He sustained serious injuries but is now reported to be in a stable condition. Authorities moved quickly to apprehend a suspect.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, was arrested shortly after police responded to the incident. Following interrogation, he was taken into the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office.
Solarzano faces five charges, including attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Court records from his release hearing revealed he is an undocumented immigrant who had previously been deported from the United States.
Not a Random Act, Says Transit Authority
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), which operates the light rail, stated the violence did not appear to be random. A representative said it seemed to be an altercation between two individuals that escalated.
"Our safety and security team continues to work alongside our partners at CMPD to provide all available information to assist in the investigation," the CATS representative told reporters.
This statement offers little comfort to a community still reeling from a previous, high-profile tragedy on the same public transport line.
Echoes of a Previous Tragedy
The attack comes just three months after 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed in a random attack on the blue line on August 22. Zarutska had come to the United States in 2022 to escape the war in Ukraine.
Her death became a focal point in national debates about crime and urban policy. Former President Donald Trump referenced her killing in September, criticising "Democrat-run cities" and their approach to crime.
Zarutska's attacker, DeCarlos Brown Jr, had a diagnosed mental illness and a history of minor offences. He had been released from jail on a misdemeanour charge months before the murder.
Lauren Newton, the attorney representing Zarutska's family, responded to the latest stabbing with a stark warning. "The fact that there was another stabbing on the light rail... continues to show that there is no fare enforcement on our light rail system," she said.
"Clearly security is still lacking to protect our citizen riders of our public transportation," Newton added in her statement.
Ongoing Safety Concerns and Audit Findings
In the wake of Zarutska's death, CATS implemented increased security measures, including adding 20 police officers to patrol transit and improving visibility and rider resources.
However, a September audit of CATS presented a damning picture, revealing that passengers face crime rates three times higher than the national average for public transport systems.
These two violent incidents, occurring so close together, have ignited urgent discussions about the effectiveness of current safety protocols and the broader challenges of securing public transit networks in major American cities.
