Man Accused of Stabbing a 2-Year-Old and Her Mother at a Providence Bus Stop Was Found Unfit for Trial in Past Cases
Nelson Blanco, 46, is charged with stabbing a 2-year-old girl and her mother at a Providence bus stop on Oct. 7, 2026. The girl was in critical condition.
A man is charged with stabbing a 2-year-old girl in her stroller and wounding her mother at a bus stop in Providence, Rhode Island, on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 7, 2026, in what police called an unprovoked attack on strangers.
Nelson Blanco, 46, faces charges including assault with intent to commit murder, police said, according to NBC Boston and Fox News.
What police say happened
The mother and daughter were waiting near Broad and Public streets for the girl’s siblings to get off a school bus. Police Chief Oscar Perez said Blanco insulted the mother, then took out a knife and began stabbing the child. Police said he did not know either of them.
Bystanders intervened, and Blanco ran into the basement of a nearby home on Daboll Street, where officers arrested him, police said.
The girl was taken to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in critical condition and remained in intensive care after surgery, WJAR reported. Her mother was also stabbed; she was treated and released from the hospital.
His past cases
Blanco’s criminal record includes a 2003 case in which he was charged with stabbing two 7-year-old boys in Providence. He was found incompetent to stand trial in that case, according to NBC Boston and Fox News.
Blanco was arraigned on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
