A 2-year-old girl is fighting for her life after a horrifying daytime stabbing in Rhode Island, allegedly carried out by a man with a lengthy criminal history who was previously accused of stabbing two other children more than 20 years ago.
The toddler and her 26-year-old mother were attacked Wednesday, October 7, while waiting at a school bus stop in Providence, where the mother had gone to pick up her older children.
Authorities say the suspect, identified as 46-year-old Nelson Blanco, approached the family without warning before allegedly pulling out a knife and repeatedly stabbing the little girl as she sat in her stroller.
The child’s mother was also wounded while attempting to escape the terrifying encounter.
The girl suffered serious injuries to her face, chest and hands and was rushed to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where she remained in critical condition as of Friday.
Her mother, who suffered a stab wound to her shoulder, was treated at a hospital and later released.
But what makes the case particularly disturbing is the accused attacker’s history.
Court records reveal that Blanco was charged in 2003 with stabbing two 7-year-old boys in another apparently random attack in Providence.
He was never convicted in that case after being found mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Even more troubling, Blanco was allowed to remain in the community following another competency determination earlier this year, despite his previous encounters with the criminal justice system.
The latest attack unfolded around 1:50 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Broad and Public streets in South Providence.
According to Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez, Blanco approached the mother while she was waiting with her daughter for her other children to return from school.
Investigators believe the family did not know Blanco and had never encountered him before.
Police say the mother attempted to distance herself from the stranger by crossing the street.
However, Blanco allegedly followed her, began shouting insults and suddenly attacked.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators reportedly shows the mother attempting to move away before the suspect grabbed the stroller.
Police allege he then pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed the defenseless toddler.
The mother was also attacked during the confrontation.
Witnesses described a terrifying scene as the mother screamed for help and bystanders rushed toward the injured child.
Jesse Alice Palmer, a 34-year-old certified nursing assistant who was nearby waiting for her own children, told The Boston Globe that she heard screaming and saw the stroller overturned.
Palmer said the little girl was so badly injured that she and another woman immediately attempted to stop the bleeding.
At one point, according to Palmer, the toddler stopped breathing, prompting the women to begin CPR.
Their desperate efforts continued as emergency responders rushed to the scene.
The child’s injuries were so severe that Police Chief Perez later described her as “fighting for her life.”
He called the attack heartbreaking and difficult to comprehend, especially as a parent himself.
Police credited witnesses with intervening during the assault, potentially preventing additional injuries.
When bystanders confronted the attacker, he allegedly fled the area on foot.
One witness pursued him as he ran toward a nearby residential neighborhood.
According to investigators, Blanco forced his way into a home on Daboll Street occupied by an elderly woman.
He then reportedly entered the basement and attempted to hide.
Officers quickly surrounded the property, entered the home and located Blanco inside.
He was arrested without further incident.
Prosecutors later said investigators recovered a bloodied knife from an electrical panel box in the basement.
Authorities also reported that Blanco made statements acknowledging his involvement in the attack, although the legal significance and admissibility of those statements will ultimately be determined in court.
He was charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering into a home occupied by someone over 60, and multiple knife-related offenses.
Blanco appeared in Providence District Court on Thursday, October 8.
A judge ordered him held while additional proceedings addressed his custody status and mental competency.
Court officials also ordered a competency evaluation and an assessment of whether he poses a danger to the community.
He was initially held on $200,000 bail in connection with the new case, and a Superior Court magistrate subsequently ordered him held without bail for an alleged violation involving an earlier case.
His next court appearance is scheduled for October 22.
As details of the attack emerged, investigators began examining Blanco’s extensive criminal history, raising questions about why someone with previous allegations involving violence against children had been living in the community.
In September 2003, when Blanco was 23, he was accused of attacking two 7-year-old boys who were playing outside in Providence.
Police at the time described the incident as a random and senseless act of violence.
Both children suffered stab wounds to their upper bodies and were transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.
They survived.
Blanco was arrested and charged in connection with that attack, but the case did not result in a criminal conviction.
Following psychiatric evaluations, a judge determined that he was incompetent to stand trial.
In 2007, state behavioral health officials concluded there was no reasonable likelihood that Blanco would regain competency in the foreseeable future.
The criminal proceedings eventually ended, and court records indicated that he was receiving inpatient care at Eleanor Slater Hospital, Rhode Island’s long-term psychiatric facility.
It remains unclear precisely when he left the hospital or what supervision arrangements followed.
Blanco subsequently faced additional criminal charges.
In a separate case involving possession of a stolen vehicle, he was again found incompetent to stand trial.
Court documents from that proceeding identified schizophrenia and an intellectual disability as conditions considered during his evaluations.
Those diagnoses do not establish why the latest attack occurred, and most people living with mental illness are not violent.
However, Blanco’s repeated competency findings have become central to questions about how authorities assessed his ability to safely remain in the community.
His most recent legal troubles before Wednesday’s attack involved a domestic violence-related case stemming from allegations that he broke into his sister’s home.
That case led to another competency evaluation.
In July 2026, Blanco was again deemed incompetent to stand trial.
According to court documents reviewed by The Boston Globe, a medical professional concluded at the time that Blanco was not likely to endanger himself or the community.
He was allowed to remain outside a secure facility with outpatient treatment.
Just months later, prosecutors say he carried out another violent attack, this time against a mother and her toddler.
The circumstances have prompted renewed scrutiny of Rhode Island’s procedures for handling defendants who are considered unable to understand criminal proceedings or assist in their own defense.
Under the law, being found incompetent to stand trial is different from being found not guilty.
Competency generally concerns whether a defendant can understand the charges and participate meaningfully in their defense.
A person who is incompetent cannot proceed through an ordinary criminal trial unless competency is restored.
Depending on the circumstances, courts may consider hospitalization, treatment, supervision and other legal requirements when determining what happens next.
Those decisions can become particularly complicated when a defendant has a history of serious allegations but has not been convicted.
During a news conference Thursday, Police Chief Perez acknowledged the disturbing history while emphasizing that police officers do not control decisions made by judges or medical professionals.
When asked whether the case demonstrated a failure of the criminal justice system, Perez resisted characterizing the entire system as broken.
“I don’t think the system is broken,” he said, explaining that law enforcement is responsible for investigating crimes and presenting evidence to the courts.
But the explanation has done little to ease the frustration of witnesses and residents who believe the toddler’s injuries might have been prevented.
Palmer, who helped treat the injured child, expressed outrage after learning about Blanco’s previous cases.
She questioned how someone who had already been accused of attacking children could remain free in the community.
The attack has also drawn a response from Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, who condemned the violence and thanked the emergency personnel and residents who intervened.
Authorities have not established a motive.
Police say there is no indication Blanco knew either victim, and investigators have not identified any dispute or previous interaction that might explain why the family was targeted.
The case remains under investigation as detectives review surveillance footage, witness statements and physical evidence recovered after the attack.
For now, the focus remains on the little girl whose life was suddenly placed in danger during what should have been an ordinary afternoon.
Her mother had simply gone to a neighborhood bus stop to collect her children from school.
Instead, she found herself desperately trying to protect her toddler from a violent attack.
As of the latest police update, the mother was recovering from her injuries while remaining close to her hospitalized daughter.
The child’s condition remained critical.
The only thing that needs to be done is bullet to him. Too bad the mother didn’t have a gun, she would have saved not just herself and her child but also all the future victims of this POS. Apparently, thats the only way to deal with these people because the crom8nal justice system is only protecting criminals these days. Thanks, liberals!!!
Wood chipper, feet first for this worthless piece of crap.