A two-year-old girl is fighting for her life after being stabbed multiple times in the face by a complete stranger while sitting in a stroller at a Providence school bus stop. The attacker had previously been accused of stabbing two other children, but was repeatedly found incompetent to stand trial before simply being released back into the community.
Police say the attack was unprovoked. The man did not know the mother or child. Months earlier, a doctor had assessed that he was “not likely to imperil the peace and safety of the community or himself at this time.” A judge accepted the recommendation and allowed him to remain free on outpatient treatment.
What kind of justice system lets a mental guy who previously stabbed two kids walk around freely?
The latest incident occurred in broad daylight Wednesday near Broad Street and Public Street in Providence, Rhode Island. The mother, 26, was waiting with her two-year-old daughter for the child’s siblings to arrive on a school bus. Nelson Blanco, 46, approached them. The mother moved across the street, but Blanco followed, insulted her, and then attacked, according to Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez.
Perez said Blanco stabbed the girl in the face multiple times and stabbed the mother in the shoulder. The attack was “unprovoked,” and the victims did not know the suspect.
Bystanders intervened. Witness Jesse Alice Palmer, a nursing assistant, said the toddler stopped breathing and that she and another woman performed CPR until emergency responders arrived. The girl remains in critical condition at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. The mother was treated and released.
