Released Despite ICE Hold, Migrant Charged in Baltimore Teen Stabbing

An illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone who had been released in New York despite an immigration hold is now charged with attempted murder and kidnapping in the stabbing of a 15-year-old girl in Baltimore, according to Baltimore police and the Department of Homeland Security.

Baltimore police said in a news release that detectives arrested 23-year-old Abubakarr Barrie on October 24 in the 3700 block of Garrison Boulevard. Police said Barrie was wanted in connection with the October 22 stabbing of a 15-year-old girl in the 3800 block of Belle Avenue, and that he was booked on charges of attempted first- and second-degree murder and multiple counts of assault.

Northwest District Attempted Murder Arrest

In reference to an aggravated assault that occurred in the Northwest District, Baltimore detectives have arrested 23-year-old Abubakarr Barrie of Baltimore.

Barrie was wanted in connection with the stabbing of a 15-year-old girl that… pic.twitter.com/DQQUjbcxYQ

— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) October 24, 2026

What police say happened

According to charging documents described by WBFF Fox45 in Baltimore, the teen accepted what she called a “hack,” an unlicensed cab ride, from Barrie after he picked her up at her sister’s home. She told investigators she asked to be taken to a restaurant on Belair Road, but Barrie drove the wrong way and turned violent when she questioned him, putting his arm around her neck and head so she could not move, the station reported.

Charging documents say Barrie then forced her into a home on Garrison Boulevard, where he began stabbing her, WBFF reported. Police said the girl fought back, grabbed a fire extinguisher, struck Barrie with it and escaped, according to the station. Police said someone on the nearby block helped her call her mother and 911, WBFF reported.

The girl was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds and a collapsed lung, WBFF reported, and she is expected to survive. WBFF reported that Barrie faces several charges, including attempted first-degree murder and kidnapping, that he is being held without bail, and that his next court date is November 25. Daily Beltway is not identifying the victim because she is a minor.

DHS: a sanctuary release came first

In an October 30 statement, DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer on October 24 asking Maryland authorities not to release Barrie. According to DHS, Barrie entered the country illegally through Arizona in December 2023, was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol and was then released into the country under the Biden administration.

DHS also said the New York Police Department arrested Barrie in July 2026 on a charge of third-degree possession of a forged instrument. The department said ICE lodged a detainer at that time, but New York officials did not honor it and released him about three months before the Baltimore attack.

“This tragedy would never have happened were it not for the multiple failures of sanctuary policies,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the statement. “First, Biden’s open borders let this monster into our country, then sanctuary politicians in New York refused to hand him over to ICE and released him after a previous arrest three months before this horrific crime.”

Mullin said DHS is urging local authorities in Maryland to “learn from sanctuary New York’s mistakes, honor ICE’s detainer against this illegal alien, and prevent him from harming any more Americans.”

Why it matters

The case lands days before Tuesday’s midterm elections, as Republicans press the argument that sanctuary rules put dangerous offenders back on the street. DHS has repeatedly cited New York’s refusal to honor detainers; in an October 23 post on X, ICE said New York City’s refusal to honor detainers was at issue in a separate Bronx stabbing case involving an off-duty NYPD detective.

Barrie has been charged but not convicted, and the allegations against him have not been proven in court. New York officials have not publicly responded to DHS’s account of the July release, based on the reports reviewed by Daily Beltway.

Sources

• Baltimore Police Department: Northwest District Attempted Murder Arrest
• WBFF Fox45 Baltimore
• Department of Homeland Security statement, Oct. 30
• Baltimore Police on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.