President Donald Trump has blamed Democrats for “destroying” Charlotte, North Carolina, after an unauthorised immigrant allegedly carried out a stabbing on the city’s light rail system on Friday. The incident comes months after another high-profile fatal stabbing on a city train.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, a Honduran national, is accused of being intoxicated and challenging a fellow passenger to a fight before stabbing him with a large fixed-blade knife. He has been charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and other offences, and is being held in Mecklenburg County jail.
The alleged victim, Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, was taken to hospital and is in stable condition. Court documents describe Solarzano as an “illegal” who has been “deported previously”. According to the Department of Homeland Security, he has entered the US illegally three times, was expelled in 2018, and apprehended again in 2021.
Republicans were quick to link the attack to local Democratic policies, echoing criticism from the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska in August on the same light rail system. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged a detainer to ensure Solarzano is not released, but noted that the county has a history of not cooperating.
Trump’s administration recently surged immigration agents to Charlotte as part of a crackdown on violent criminals, though internal data suggests fewer than one-third of those arrested had prior criminal charges. Despite the stabbing, crime in Charlotte has been declining, with homicides down 24 per cent and aggravated assaults down 19 per cent in the third quarter.
