Charlotte residents say their city is becoming more dangerous — and the numbers back them up. A recent survey of more than 930 residents conducted during the search for a new police chief shows two in three Charlotteans feel less safe than they did a year ago, with an overwhelming majority demanding proactive, not reactive, policing.
The survey results come as the city reels from a second stabbing on the Charlotte light rail system, just months after the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. On Friday, police say Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie was stabbed on a CATS train in a brutal, unprovoked attack.
According to arrest warrants and DHS sources, the suspect — 33-year-old Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia of Honduras — had been deported twice, first under the Trump administration in 2018 and again under Biden, before illegally reentering the U.S. as a “got-away.” Solorzano, who has a criminal history that includes robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, was denied bond during a Monday court appearance.
Dobie, who is recovering in the hospital, said he intervened after seeing Solorzano yelling at an elderly woman. “What I won’t allow is you to attack random people for no reason, especially the elderly,” he said from his hospital bed.
Court documents say Solorzano boarded the train intoxicated, broke into a railroad car “with the intent to commit a felony,” and challenged passengers to fight while carrying a large fixed-blade knife.
Friday’s stabbing follows the horrifying death of 23-year-old Zarutska, who police say was murdered by Decarlos Brown Jr. — a man with a long, violent criminal history and a schizophrenia diagnosis, yet still out on the streets.
For many Charlotte residents, the pattern is clear: rising violence, repeat offenders, and a transit system where riders are increasingly looking over their shoulders.
