Another stabbing on Charlotte’s light rail system reignited political conversations about the city’s handling of crime and immigration.
Police arrested Oscar Solarzano, 33, on Friday, alleging he stabbed another man that day on a LYNX Blue Line train. He faces attempted first-degree murder and other charges.
The incident happened a little over three months after the fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on the Blue Line sparked investigations and heated debate over crime in Charlotte. It also follows weeks of debate and protests after U.S. Border Patrol agents detained hundreds in a controversial operation in and around the city.
Solarzano is undocumented, from Honduras and was previously deported twice, according to court records filed in Mecklenburg County and a statement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Republican political leaders, including President Donald Trump, reacted swiftly to the latest stabbing over the weekend.
“Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina. What’s going on in Charlotte? Democrats are destroying it, like everything else, piece by piece!!!,” Trump wrote on social media Saturday.
President Donald Trump, seen here in a White House video Sept. 9, 2025, where he blamed policies in Democratic-run cities like Charlotte for contributing to the death of Iryna Zarutska, renewed his criticism of the city after another stabbing on its light rail system Friday. X screen grab
Local leaders say the city is investing in improving public safety, including on the region’s transit system.
“Everyone deserves to be and feel safe in our city, and there is no room for violence in our community,” Mayor Vi Lyles said in a Saturday statement.
Second light rail stabbing in Charlotte
Police on Friday said a person was stabbed around 4:49 p.m. in the NoDa area and taken to a hospital, The Charlotte Observer reported previously. ”A verbal altercation escalated to the point of a stabbing incident on a Blue Line train,” Interim Charlotte Area Transit System CEO Brent Cagle said in a statement Saturday.
Solarzano is charged with felony counts of attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and breaking into a vehicle, and misdemeanor counts of carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated and disruptive behavior, according to a police arrest warrant.
The warrant accuses Solarzano of breaking into the light rail train, and his address is listed as a Roof Above homeless shelter.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have said the victim was in critical but stable condition. CMPD spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for an update on his condition Sunday.
The Friday incident recalled the prior stabbing this year on a CATS Blue Line light rail train.
There have been two stabbings on Charlotte’s LYNX Blue Line light rail in the past several months, triggering debate over safety on public transit. JEFF SINER [email protected]
Police arrested DeCarlos Brown in August and charged him with murder in the death of Zarutska, which garnered national attention after security camera footage of the killing went viral on social media. Brown, who records show had a history of mental illness and incarceration, also faces federal charges in the case.
State legislators have since passed “Iryna’s Law,” which includes stricter bail rules for many violent offenses, a new protocol for judges and magistrates ordering mental health evaluations and funding for additional prosecutors in Mecklenburg County.
The stabbing also triggered investigations by the State Auditor’s Office and Federal Transit Administration.
Republicans continue criticism of Charlotte crime, immigration
Many local, state and national Republicans said Zarutska’s killing was the result of “soft on crime” policies in the heavily Democratic city. And many of those same voices renewed that criticism after the latest incident.
Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, now running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, called out his likely Democratic opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper. Whatley cited Cooper’s previous opposition to legislation requiring sheriffs to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“This is Roy Cooper’s legacy,” Whatley said in a statement on the Friday stabbing.
Legislation did make it through the General Assembly last year requiring sheriffs to work with ICE, despite opposition from some sheriffs and Democrats.
Cooper’s campaign said Whatley was trying “to distract from his support for cuts to law enforcement that make North Carolinians less safe.”
Cooper has spent his career “keeping thousands of (criminals) behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough on crime laws and stricter bail and pretrial release rules as governor,” a Cooper campaign spokesperson said in a statement.
Other Republicans also continued to critique many Democrats’ opposition to Border Patrol’s presence in North Carolina, citing Solarzano’s undocumented status.
“The stabbing on the Charlotte light rail last night was committed by an illegal alien,” state House Speaker Destin Hall said on social media Saturday. “@DHSgov is working to detain as many criminals as possible, but we need stronger cooperation from the ‘leaders’ in our state. @NC_Governor, it’s time to step up and do more to protect NC citizens.”
Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said previously he’d support targeted efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants with criminal histories but that Border Patrol was “just sweeping up folks, causing fear, stoking division” during its November operation in North Carolina.
Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, a face of the operation in North Carolina and similar events in other major cities, criticized Stein on social media Sunday for not mentioning Solarzano’s undocumented status in his response to the Friday stabbing. Bovino said Stein was “choosing illegal aliens over Ma and Pa America.”
Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby said in a Sunday statement “current city and county leadership do not take the rule of law seriously …. This reckless behavior has led to a direct correlation between increasing lawlessness and local officials pandering to the far left.”
Overall crime decreased 8% citywide in the first three quarters of the year compared to the same period in 2024, CMPD said in its latest quarterly crime report released in mid-October. CMPD also reported a 20% reduction in violent crime, “which includes homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults which encompass shootings.”
Transit leader, Democrats: Charlotte is investing in safety on public transit
Lyles, in her first comments on the latest stabbing, said Charlotte has “invested heavily in increasing security on our transit system and CMPD has been proactive in increasing its presence across our city.”
She highlighted the recent announcement of “Operation Safe Season,” a multi-agency effort to increase police presence and enforcement during the holiday season in uptown.
“There are several aspects of public safety that are outside of the city’s jurisdiction, including immigration policy and enforcement,” Lyles stated, “but we will continue to focus on public safety and ensuring a safe and vibrant community.”
In his Saturday statement, Cagle said CATS has deployed additional off-duty CMPD officers, private security personnel, new technology and safety reporting tools since Zarutska’s death.
“Violence has no place in our community, including on public transit. Individuals who believe public transit can be used as an area to settle grievances through violent altercations are not welcome on our system,” Cagle said.
Stein posted on social media he’d spoken with new CMPD Chief Estella Patterson about the latest stabbing and was praying for 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,” Stein said.
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 12:25 PM.
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Mary Ramsey
The Charlotte Observer
Mary Ramsey is the local government accountability reporter for The Charlotte Observer. A native of the Carolinas, she studied journalism at the University of South Carolina and has also worked in Phoenix, Arizona and Louisville, Kentucky.
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