Oscar Solarzano, 33, charged with attempted first degree murder and four other counts
The suspect charged Saturday for allegedly stabbing and seriously injuring a man on a Charlotte light rail train the night before was reportedly a previously deported illegal immigrant.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) announced in a Saturday morning X post it charged Oscar Solarzano, 33, with attempted first degree murder and four other charges after he allegedly stabbed Kenyon Dobie in the chest Friday night. The incident took place on the Lynx Blue Line, the same transit line a mentally ill career criminal fatally stabbed Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old refugee from war-torn Ukraine, on Aug. 22.
Magistrate Rebecca Howell said Solarzano was in the U.S. illegally and had been, at one point, deported, Charlotte-based ABC affiliate WSOC-TV reported, citing court paperwork. Howell ordered the suspect be held without bond.
The victim was hospitalized with serious injuries and remains in stable condition, ABC News reported Saturday afternoon, citing the Mecklenburg EMS Agency. Solarzano is set to make a court appearance Monday morning, according to WSOC-TV.
“Solarzano was quickly apprehended by officers shortly after the incident occurred. Solarzano was transported to the division office where he was interviewed by detectives,” CMPD wrote on X. “At the conclusion of this interview, Solarzano was transported to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.”
Case Update: Assault with a Deadly Weapon Investigation in the Eastway Division
As a result of the continued investigation, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Eastway Division Detectives identified Oscar Solarzano, 33, as a suspect in connection to this case.…
— CMPD News (@CMPD) December 6, 2025
“Just months ago, Iryna Zarutska was brutally murdered on this very same Charlotte light-rail line.
