Latest Charlotte rail stabbing suspect ordered to stay behind bars in first court hearing

Charlotte North Carolina CNN The man accused of turning selected angry words into another stabbing affair on the light rail function in Charlotte North Carolina made his first court appearance Monday Prosecutors disclosed in court -year-old Oscar Solarzano has admitted to the stabbing but the suspect was not questioned 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 masses defender s office declined to comment in court Solarzano s next court appearance is set for December 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 client The victim advised him to stop yelling and leave everyone alone That s when the DA s office mentioned Solarzano started drinking more alcohol and approached the victim and began arguing The victim Kenyon Dobie communicated CNN affiliate WRAL over 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 announced the victim pushed Solarzano away causing him to stumble and fall back over a seat When he got up they commented he then produced a large knife The victim attempted to back away but Solarzano stabbed him in the chest reported prosecutors Solarzano fled when the train stopped at the next station according to the DA s office The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department stated 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 narrated the station from his hospital bed It was the second time this year there has been a high-profile affair where city police responded to an innocent visitor 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 -year-old Iryna Zarutska on 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 the bulk fresh 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 and then deported by the Trump administration according to Department of Homeland Protection Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin He was removed again after entering the US illegally in Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte North Carolina President Donald Trump wrote Saturday 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 occurrence 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 subjects is different in the two light rail stabbing cases this year both involve persons who managed to avoid responsibility for past violations according to personnel McLaughlin reported it is not clear when Solarzano most of of late came back to the US after two deportations while Brown rarely stayed in recovery or detention for long his family has disclosed 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 functionaries and the DA s office The transit agency noted its assurance organization is still reviewing the details of the matter that led to the ban Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles communicated residents over the weekend leaders are taking shield concerns seriously Everyone deserves to be and feel safe in our city and there is no room for violence in our population Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles wrote Saturday in a post on X The mayor sidestepped a direct response to the disagreement over immigration There are several aspects of community safety that are outside of the city s jurisdiction including immigration procedures and enforcement Lyles declared but we will continue to focus on society safety and ensuring a safe and vibrant locality Immigration operation in Charlotte in recent weeks 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 noted resulted in more than arrests It was the third in a series of prominent and controversial urban operations led by Territory line 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 he replied to Stein on X We ve shown and described 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 alleged murderer was not an immigrant Her horrific murder is a direct effect of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated in a message announcing a federal terrorism charge being filed against Brown The Charlotte Area Transit System mentioned it has increased safety operations since the killing of Zarutska with greater private precaution 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 practicable by deploying additional off-duty CMPD officers private shield personnel new instrument and safety reporting tools transit representatives explained in a announcement