Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, Honduran charged in N.C. stabbing, had been deported twice: DHS

Federal officials say an illegal immigrant accused of stabbing another man on the light rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina, had been deported twice before the attack.

The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday it is seeking to deport Honduran national Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia for a third time after he was charged with attempted murder Friday.

“This heinous stabbing by this twice removed illegal alien should have NEVER happened,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a written statement. “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.”

A drunken Mr. Solorzano-Garcia, 33, forced his way onto the train around 4:45 p.m. Friday and began shouting at passengers, according to court documents. The suspect then challenged the victim to a fight, at which point he stabbed the man with a large, fixed-blade knife.

The victim was rushed to a hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition, authorities said.

Charlotte-Mecklenberg police said they booked Mr. Solorzano-Garcia on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, breaking and entering a motor vehicle and public intoxication.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a deportation detainer for the suspect after his arrest.

Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Mr. Solorzano-Garcia was previously convicted of robbery and illegally reentering the country. He has prior arrests for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, destroying evidence, resisting arrest and using a false ID, she said.

The DHS said Solorzano-Garcia was first deported in March 2018. He was apprehended at the border in 2021 and again removed, but it’s unclear when he re-entered the U.S.

President Trump blamed the city’s Democratic leadership for the attack.

“Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina,” Mr. Trump posted Saturday on Truth Social. “What’s going on in Charlotte? Democrats are destroying it, like everything else, piece by piece!!!”

The president was referring to August, when an ex-convict was charged with fatally stabbing a Ukrainian war refugee to death aboard a light rail train in Charlotte.

The caught-on-camera slaying allegedly showed suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. stabbing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska seemingly at random after she sat in front of him on the train. Brown is an American citizen.

Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Brown, who had been arrested at least 14 times since 2011 and served a stint in prison. He also faces first-degree murder charges in state court.

ICE is currently surging agents to Charlotte as part of a deportation mission in North Carolina’s largest city.

Officials said Operation Charlotte’s Web, which began last month, has netted more than 425 arrests.