Stranger stabs mother and toddler waiting for a bus in Providence

A mother waiting for a bus with her toddler in Providence was attacked by a stranger with a knife on Wednesday afternoon, leaving the 2 year old girl critically wounded and revealing that the suspect had done this kind of thing before.

Nelson Blanco, 46, was arraigned Thursday morning and charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, and weapons charges. Police say that around 1:50 p.m. Wednesday, near Broad Street and Public Street in South Providence, Blanco approached a mother and her baby girl, who did not know him. He insulted the mother, then grabbed a knife and stabbed the child as she sat in her stroller. Bystanders stepped in and had some success stopping him.

The girl is in stable but critical condition at Hasbro Children's Hospital. Her mother, identified in court records as Amelia Javier, was treated and released.

Blanco fled into a nearby home, broke in past a woman inside, and hid in the basement, where police arrested him after a witness chased him to the building.

Then came the history. Providence police chief Col. Oscar L. Perez Jr. confirmed Thursday that Blanco has a lengthy criminal record including a 2003 case in which he was accused of stabbing two 7 year old boys. Twenty three years later, he is accused of stabbing a baby in a stroller.