EVERETT — An attempted murder charge was dismissed this week against a man accused of the January 2017 stabbing of a stranger at the Everett Transit Center.

Steven Koropp, 26, has been locked up since he reportedly stabbed a man who was waiting for a bus. He was charged in Snohomish County Superior Court with attempted second-degree murder. But the case was almost immediately placed on hold because Koropp, who lives with schizophrenia, was deemed too mentally ill to assist his defense attorney.

“Mr. Koropp did not appear to understand the adversarial nature of the legal process, the role of his attorney, his various legal options and his legal peril,” a state mental health expert opined after examining him in February 2017.

Koropp has spent much of the past year at a state mental hospital undergoing attempted competency restoration treatment. A March 14 report from state experts say that Koropp does now appear to have the capacity to understand the proceedings against him, but still is living with psychosis, including hallucinations, that “may impair his capacity to communicate effectively with is attorney and participate appropriately” in court.

On Thursday, the attempted murder charge was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could refile the case if the situation changes. Meanwhile, Koropp has remained in the care of state mental health officials, who are pursuing civil commitment.

Koropp did not know the man who was attacked. After his arrest, he reportedly told police the voices in his head told him the man, who is African American, was going to “kill little white girls,” court papers said.

When a detective attempted to interview Koropp at the police station, he reportedly carried on a conversation with himself and “appeared to take on different personalities which appeared to argue with each other,” documents said.

Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.