A stranger allegedly stabbed a toddler in the face as she sat in her stroller at a Rhode Island school bus stop, years after he was accused of knifing two other children and found incompetent to stand trial.
uncertain
he → stab → trial
The child’s fight for survival has brought renewed scrutiny into the suspect’s past, including an attack on two children more than two decades ago and repeated findings that he was incompetent to stand trial.
asserted
he → bring → trial
Nelson Blanco, 46, is accused of stabbing the 2-year-old girl and her mother Wednesday afternoon near Broad and Public streets in Providence, police said.
asserted
police → accuse → Providence
The toddler was taken to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in critical condition.
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toddler → take → condition
Her mother, who suffered a stab wound to the shoulder, was treated and released, according to local reporting.
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who → suffer → reporting
The mother was waiting with her daughter for her other children to get off a school bus when Blanco allegedly approached and made insulting comments, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said, according to WPRI.
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Perez → wait → WPRI
She crossed the street with the stroller to get away, but Blanco approached again and allegedly attacked the child with a knife, police said, noting there was no evidence he knew either victim.
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he → cross → victim
Surveillance video showed the mother and daughter attempting to move away before Blanco grabbed the stroller and struck the child repeatedly, Boston 25 News reported.
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News → show → child
A bystander tried to intervene, but Blanco allegedly attempted to stab that person before fleeing, according to the outlet.
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Blanco → try → outlet
Officers found Blanco hiding in the basement of a nearby home and recovered a knife from a panel box, police said.
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police → find → box
Authorities said he admitted to the stabbings during questioning.
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he → say → questioning
Blanco allegedly told detectives he stopped the attack because he was on a main street, according to a police report obtained by WPRI.
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he → tell → WPRI
"If I was on a side street, I would have killed them.
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I → kill → them
Both of them," he said, according to the outlet.
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he → say → outlet
Blanco faces six charges, including two counts police identified as assault with intent to commit murder, felony assault, breaking and entering into an occupied dwelling of a person 60 or older, and two weapons charges.
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police → face → person
No plea was entered during his Thursday appearance in Rhode Island’s 6th Division District Court.
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plea → enter → Court
The court referred him to the public defender and requested an evaluation, according to court records reviewed by Fox News Digital.
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court → refer → Digital
WPRI reported Blanco is being held without bail pending a competency hearing later this month.
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Blanco → report → hearing
His arrest brought back painful memories for Andy Lopez and Dave Belony, who told WPRI they were 6 and 7 years old when Blanco attacked them while they played in Lopez’s backyard on Sept. 27, 2003.
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they → bring → Sept.
Belony said he recognized Blanco immediately when he saw his booking photo on social media Wednesday night.
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he → say → media
"I knew it was him, because I will always remember that face," he told the station.
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he → know → face
"My heart dropped, and it truly felt like my world had stopped."
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world → drop → ?
Court records reviewed by Fox News Digital show Blanco faced two felony assault charges and a charge of possessing a knife or firearm during a crime, stemming from the 2003 incident.
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Blanco → review → incident
The docket documents repeated findings that Blanco was incompetent to stand trial from September 2004 through March 2006.
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Blanco → repeat → March
Multiple entries state, "Defendant Remains Incompetent."
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Defendant → state → ?
The case remains listed as "under review" in the court portal.
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case → list → portal
More recently, Blanco was found incompetent to stand trial in July in a separate domestic violence case, WPRI reported.
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WPRI → find → case
A judge accepted a doctor’s recommendation allowing him to remain in outpatient treatment because he was considered unlikely to endanger the community or himself at that time.
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he → accept → time
Lopez and Belony said the earlier attack left them with injuries and trauma that have followed them into adulthood.
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that → say → adulthood
They told WPRI they were playing with Lopez’s brother when Blanco emerged from a shed behind the house where he had been living.
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he → tell → house
"He didn’t say a word," Belony recalled.
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Belony → say → word
"His face was blank and he was just staring at us."
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he → star → us
Belony said Blanco charged at him, trapping him near a tree.
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Blanco → say → tree
He curled into a ball and covered his head as Blanco stabbed him.
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Blanco → curl → him
Blanco then turned toward Lopez, the men said.
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men → turn → Lopez
"My brother yelled at me to run, and I was trying to run but my body just froze," Lopez told WPRI.
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Lopez → yell → WPRI
"He stabbed me twice in the eye — the first time it was blurry, and then the second time I couldn’t see anything."
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I → stab → anything
Both children were rushed to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.
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children → rush → Hospital
Their recovery took three months and included at least three surgeries each, they told the outlet.
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they → take → outlet
Lopez was left permanently blind in his left eye, an injury he said derailed his dreams of becoming a police officer or truck driver.
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he → leave → officer
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
