PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence man accused of stabbing a woman and her 2-year-old daughter while they waited at a school bus stop is now being held without bail. The child remained in critical condition Thursday, according to police, while the mother had been released from the hospital.
Police say the attack happened in broad daylight near Broad and Public streets and ended only after witnesses chased the suspect away. Officers later found him in the basement of a nearby home and took him into custody.
The suspect, Nelson Blanco, 46, was arraigned in Providence District Court Thursday on multiple charges tied to the attack. A competency evaluation was also ordered, adding another layer to a case that already includes older criminal allegations and questions about his legal status in a separate matter.
Charges filed after attack near Broad and Public streets
Blanco faces two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, along with assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors also charged him with breaking and entering into a dwelling occupied by a person over 60, possession of a knife during the commission of a crime of violence, and possession of a knife with a blade longer than 3 inches.
Police say the stabbing unfolded around 1:30 p.m. while the mother and toddler waited for the child’s siblings to arrive by school bus. Providence police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said Blanco approached the woman at least twice before insulting her and then attacking the child with a knife.
Witnesses stepped in quickly, Perez said, and that intervention pushed Blanco to flee the scene. The chief also said Blanco confessed to the crime after his arrest. Police have not said what, if anything, may have prompted the assault beyond that encounter at the bus stop.
Witnesses chased the suspect before police found him
Video from the scene showed several people running after the suspect as he fled down a nearby street. Police said Blanco ducked into the basement of a home, where officers later arrested him.
The arrest location came after a fast-moving search through the neighborhood, with bystanders helping keep track of the suspect as he ran. Perez said the witness response was critical in stopping the attack from going any further.
Authorities have said they do not believe Blanco knew either victim before the stabbing. That detail makes the case especially troubling for investigators because it appears to have involved a random confrontation outside a school bus stop rather than a dispute between people who had any known relationship.
Chief Perez calls the assault heartbreaking for the community
Perez described the case as devastating both as a parent and as the city’s top police officer. He said the attack struck a family simply waiting for a bus, a routine moment that turned violent in seconds.
“As a parent, as a member of this community, as the chief of police, I cannot overstate how heartbreaking this incident is,” Perez said Thursday morning. “Our thoughts are with this child and this child’s family as they face this unimaginable situation.”
The chief’s comments underscored how alarming the case has been for residents and investigators alike. The fact that the child was still in critical condition Thursday added to the sense of urgency surrounding the prosecution and the care she was receiving at the hospital.
Bail revoked in separate 2024 case as court reviews competency
After the new charges were addressed in Providence District Court, Blanco was returned to a Rhode Island courtroom, where judges revoked his bail in an unresolved 2024 case. That earlier case included charges of domestic violence, disorderly conduct and breaking and entering.
Court records discussed Thursday also showed that Blanco was deemed incompetent in a separate legal matter in July. In addition, Perez confirmed that Blanco has previously been arrested for attacking children, though officials did not provide details about those earlier incidents during the update.
The competency evaluation ordered Thursday means the court will review whether Blanco can properly participate in the legal process. For now, the combined weight of the new stabbing charges and the older pending case leaves him held without bail while the investigation continues.
Mother released while child remains in critical condition
Both victims were taken to a nearby hospital after the stabbing. Police said the mother has since been released, but the toddler’s condition remained critical as of Thursday.
Officials emphasized that the suspect and victims were not believed to know one another, a detail that has sharpened concern around the attack. The incident took place in a busy neighborhood setting where parents and children regularly gather before school transport arrives.
With the child still hospitalized and the case moving through court, investigators are now focused on the charges, the competency review and the earlier open matter in Rhode Island. Police have said they are still piecing together the full sequence of events that led to the stabbing.
Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.
