2-year-old 'fighting for her life,' mother injured in unprovoked stabbing attack at RI bus stop—suspect repeatedly released after being found unfit to stand trial

A Rhode Island toddler is “fighting for her life” after a man with a long history of criminal charges allegedly attacked the child and her mother with a knife in Providence. The suspect had previously been charged with stabbing two kids.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said that Nelson Blanco, 46, had been arrested for allegedly stabbing the mother and 2-year-old child in a broad daylight attack. Blanco is believed to be homeless. He is facing two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and breaking and entering, among other charges.

Perez said that officers responded to the area of Broad Street and Public Street for a reported stabbing. Blanco allegedly approached the mother and her child, who moved across the street while waiting for her two other children to arrive on the school bus. The suspect approached them again and began insulting the mother before attacking the child, who was in a stroller, with a knife, Perez said. The mother was stabbed in the shoulder. Bystanders attempted to intervene.
The suspect and victims did not know each other, and the attack was unprovoked, police said. The suspect had fled the area and broke into an elderly woman’s house and hid in the basement. He was arrested without incident.

Perez said the mother was treated and released from the hospital; however, the 2-year-old is still critical and “fighting for her life.”

Blanco has a lengthy criminal history that involves being repeatedly released back into the community after being found incompetent to stand trial in other cases, the Boston Globe reported.

Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office said that Blanco has been deemed incompetent to stand trial after mental health evaluations in at least three cases. One of those cases, which took place in 2023, involved charges against Blanco for stabbing two 7-year-old boys.

In the most recent case, Blanco was deemed unfit to stand trial in July in a 2024 domestic violence case. Blanco was allowed to remain free and receive outpatient treatment, instead of being institutionalized. A doctor had said that Blanco was “not likely to imperil the safety of the community or himself at this time.”