CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A judge in North Carolina ruled on Monday that a Honduran man accused in a stabbing incident aboard a Charlotte commuter train will be detained without bail. The case, involving a non-fatal attack, has captured attention, including remarks from President Donald Trump, who highlighted the suspect’s undocumented status in the U.S.

Oscar Solarzano, aged 33, appeared remotely dressed in an orange jumpsuit as charges were read to him through a translator. He faces accusations of attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, among others. Mecklenburg County District Judge Keith Smith set the next court date for December 30.

The public defender present at the hearing chose not to provide any comments.

Solarzano, who is also identified as Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, allegedly stabbed Kenyon Kareem Dobie, 24, during an altercation on the Blue Line train last Friday.

During the proceedings, it emerged that Solarzano had previously been barred from Charlotte Area Transit Service properties in October, as indicated by court records listing a local homeless shelter as his address. CATS spokesman Brett Baldeck confirmed the ban but mentioned that further information was not immediately available. “Our security team is currently investigating,” Baldeck stated.

The Department of Homeland Security says Solarzano had been deported twice and has previous convictions for robbery and illegal reentry, but details were not immediately available.

DHS, which recently conducted an immigration crackdown in Charlotte and around the state capital of Raleigh, has lodged a detainer with local authorities.

“I guess it’s better off that it happened to me and not an older person,” Dobie told the station.

“I wasn’t trying to be a macho man,” Dobie said in a TikTok post from his hospital room. “But what I won’t allow is you to attack random people for no reason, especially the elderly.”

The incident comes just a few months after a Ukrainian refugee riding one of the city’s trains was killed in an unrelated knife attack.

Iryna Zarutska, 23, had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to the U.S. to escape the war, her relatives said. Decarlos Brown Jr., has been charged with first-degree murder in state court, and was also indicted in federal court on a charge of causing death on a mass transportation system.

As with the Aug. 22 attack, President Donald Trump and others in his administration point to the incident as proof that Democratic-led cities are soft on crime.

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

Although they have not responded directly to Trump, city officials have defended their efforts to keep the public safe.

“We have invested heavily in increasing security on our transit system and CMPD has been proactive in increasing its presence across our city, including announcing a new multi-agency effort this week,” Mayor Vi Lyles said on Saturday. “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.”

Brent Cagle, CATS interim CEO, said the transit system has taken a “proactive and robust” safety approach since Zarutska’s stabbing, with extra off-duty police officers, private security and new technology.

“We will continue to work with our partners at CMPD as well as our private security team to ensure everyone rides appropriately on public transit,” he said. “We will not compromise on the safety of our customers and employees.”

___

Breed reported from Wake Forest, North Carolina.