Toddler Stabbed in Face; Suspect Unfit for Trial in 2 Attacks

A stranger allegedly attacked a toddler with a knife while she was sitting in her stroller at a Rhode Island school bus stop—a case that has renewed questions about the suspect’s history, including an earlier assault on two children and repeated findings that he was incompetent to stand trial.

The 2-year-old remains in a fight for her life, while scrutiny has intensified around the suspect’s past. More than 20 years ago, he was accused of attacking two other children and was repeatedly deemed unable to proceed to trial.

Nelson Blanco, 46, is accused of stabbing the girl and her mother Wednesday afternoon near Broad and Public streets in Providence, police said.

The toddler was transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in critical condition. Her mother suffered a stab wound to the shoulder and was treated before being released, according to local reports.

The mother had been waiting with her daughter for her other children to arrive on a school bus when Blanco allegedly came toward them and made insulting remarks, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said, according to WPRI.

The woman moved across the street with the stroller in an effort to escape. Police said Blanco followed and allegedly attacked the child with a knife. Investigators found no indication that he knew either victim.

Surveillance footage showed the mother and daughter trying to get away before Blanco allegedly seized the stroller and repeatedly struck the child, Boston 25 News reported.

A bystander attempted to stop the attack, but Blanco allegedly tried to stab that person before running from the scene, according to the outlet.

Police later found Blanco hiding in the basement of a nearby house. Officers recovered a knife from a panel box, and authorities said Blanco admitted during questioning that he carried out the stabbings.

According to a police report obtained by WPRI, Blanco told detectives he ended the assault because he was on a main street.

“If I was on a side street, I would have killed them. Both of them,” he said, according to the outlet.

Blanco faces six charges, including two counts identified by police 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-related charges.

He did not enter a plea during his Thursday appearance in Rhode Island’s 6th Division District Court. Court records reviewed by News Outlet show that the court appointed a public defender and requested an evaluation.

WPRI reported that Blanco is being held without bail while awaiting a competency hearing later this month.

The arrest also resurfaced traumatic memories for Andy Lopez and Dave Belony. The two men told WPRI they were 6 and 7 years old when Blanco allegedly attacked them as they played in Lopez’s backyard on Sept. 27, 2003.

Belony said he recognized Blanco immediately after seeing his booking photo on social media Wednesday night.

“I knew it was him, because I will always remember that face,” he told the station. “My heart dropped, and it truly felt like my world had stopped.”

Court records reviewed by News Outlet show Blanco faced two felony assault charges and a charge of possessing a knife or firearm during a crime, stemming from the 2003 incident.

The docket documents repeated findings that Blanco was incompetent to stand trial from September 2004 through March 2006. Multiple entries state, “Defendant Remains Incompetent.” The case remains listed as “under review” in the court portal.

More recently, Blanco was found incompetent to stand trial in July in a separate domestic violence case, WPRI reported. 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.

Lopez and Belony said the earlier attack left them with injuries and trauma that have followed them into 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.

“He didn’t say a word,” Belony recalled. “His face was blank and he was just staring at us.”

Belony said Blanco charged at him, trapping him near a tree. He curled into a ball and covered his head as Blanco stabbed him.

Blanco then turned toward Lopez, the men said.

“My brother yelled at me to run, and I was trying to run but my body just froze,” Lopez told WPRI. “He stabbed me twice in the eye — the first time it was blurry, and then the second time I couldn’t see anything.”

Both children were rushed to Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Their recovery took three months and included at least three surgeries each, they told the 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.

“Most of the opportunities I wanted to have in life are gone,” he said. “I’m very grateful I’m alive, but my life is restricted.”

Belony said he was stabbed at least five times in his stomach, back and ribs and continues to struggle emotionally.

The men said learning about the latest attack left them devastated for the mother and toddler, and determined to speak out.

“It’s frustrating for us, not only because of what happened to us, but because it has happened to others,” Lopez told WPRI. “He was given a chance 23 years ago, and 23 years later, he did the same thing.”

“We want justice for the victims,” Belony said. “What is it going to take for him to be held accountable for his actions?”

News Outlet reached out to the Providence Police Department and the Rhode Island attorney general’s office for comment.