A 2-year-old girl was critically injured in a stabbing in Providence on Wednesday, and her mother was also wounded, police said. Nelson Blanco, 46, is accused in the attack and faces six charges, including two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, according to the report. He has not entered a plea in the case.
Police said the mother was waiting with her daughter at a school bus stop when Blanco approached them. The mother moved across the street, but police allege he followed and attacked the child with a knife. The mother suffered a shoulder wound and was treated and released. A bystander tried to intervene, according to local reporting. Officers later found Blanco in the basement of a nearby home and recovered a knife, police said.
The court referred Blanco to a public defender and requested an evaluation after his Thursday court appearance, Fox News reported, citing court records. WPRI reported he was being held without bail pending a competency hearing later this month.
The arrest has drawn attention to Blanco’s earlier criminal case. Court records reviewed by Fox News show he was charged in connection with a 2003 attack on two boys, then 6 and 7. The records document repeated findings that he was incompetent to stand trial between September 2004 and March 2006; the case remains listed as under review. The boys, now adults, told WPRI they suffered serious injuries and lasting effects.
WPRI also reported that Blanco was found incompetent in a separate domestic-violence case in July. A judge accepted a doctor’s recommendation for outpatient treatment, citing a determination at the time that he was unlikely to endanger himself or others. The current allegations remain pending, and a competency hearing is expected later this month.
