Northeast Stabbing Cases Include Fatality, Critical Toddler

Nelson Blanco, 46, is accused of stabbing a mother and her 2-year-old daughter near Broad and Public streets in Providence after repeatedly insulting the woman. Police say he attacked the child in her stroller, and the mother was also injured; she was treated and released, while the girl remains in stable but critical condition. Witnesses intervened, and one followed Blanco as he fled into a nearby home, where police found and arrested him in the basement. Blanco has been charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder and several weapons and breaking-and-entering offenses; police say he admitted to the attack, but no motive has been disclosed. The police chief also cited Blanco’s lengthy criminal history, including a 2003 case in which he was accused of stabbing two 7-year-old boys.