Second Charlotte Train Stabbing Draws Sharp Comments From Trump

An illegal alien from Honduras is reported to have stabbed a man on a light-rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina. Suspect Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia is in custody and has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has logged an arrest detainer for the man.  

The incident marks the second stabbing on Charlotte’s transit systems in five months.  

“Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend. “What’s going on in Charlotte? Democrats are destroying it, like everything else, piece by piece!!!” 

Decarlos Brown Jr. was arrested over the summer and later indicted by a grand jury in the stabbing death of Ukrainian woman Iryna Zarutska. If convicted, Brown could face the death penalty.  

Charlotte is a Democrat-run city with Democrats holding the majority of City Council positions and controlling the school board. Vi Lyles, a Democrat, currently serves as the mayor of Charlotte. The city has not had a Republican mayor in over 15 years. 

“Everyone deserves to be and feel safe in our city, and there is no room for violence in our community,” Lyles wrote on X after the Friday stabbing incident. “There are several aspects of public safety that are outside of the city’s jurisdiction, including immigration policy and enforcement, but we will continue to focus on public safety and ensuring a safe and vibrant community,” the mayor added.  

The man stabbed in the most recent incident was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. A spokesperson for the Charlotte Area Transit System said the violence does not appear to have been random but the result of an “altercation between two individuals that escalated,” according to the local outlet WBTV 3.  

Since Zarutska was stabbed on a Charlotte light-rail train in August, the Charlotte Area Transit System has “taken a proactive and robust approach to keep employees and passengers as safe as possible by deploying additional off-duty [Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department] officers, private security personnel, new technology and safety reporting tools,” the train system’s Interim CEO Brent Cagle said.  

Authorities arrested Honduran Solorzano shortly after the stabbing on Friday.  

In 2018, Solorzano was issued a final order of removal from an immigration judge and was removed in March 2018, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Authorities apprehended him crossing the border illegally in 2021 and he was removed but reentered the U.S. at an unknown time.  

“This heinous stabbing by this twice removed illegal alien should have NEVER happened,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. “ICE lodged an arrest detainer to ensure Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia is not released back into North Carolina neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the county will honor the detainer since they have a history of not cooperating with ICE,” she said. 

Charlotte is not a “sanctuary city,” but Sheriff Garry McFadden has a reputation of not willingly cooperating with ICE. Despite opposition from local leaders, immigration officials are carrying out enforcement efforts in the community.  

In November, DHS launched Operation Charlotte’s Web in North Carolina to “target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to the Tar Heel State because they knew sanctuary politicians would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets,” according to DHS.  

“Under President Trump, ICE is being unleashed to ensure public safety for all Americans,” Noem said. “Make no mistake: We will not rest until every depraved criminal illegal alien is removed from our communities.”