[NYP] A 2-year-old girl is “fighting for her life” after she and her mom were stabbed by a maniac — who was free despite a domestic violence arrest and another one for stabbing two other kids, police said.
Nelson Blanco, 46, was arrested in Providence, Rhode Island, for allegedly attacking the toddler and her mom on the street in broad daylight on Wednesday.
The mom and girl were rushed to the hospital with stab wounds on their bodies and faces. The mom has been released, but her daughter remains in critical condition, the Providence Police Department told The Post on Friday.
It wasn’t Blanco’s first time accused of stabbing kids. He was charged in 2003 with stabbing two 7-year-old boys as they played in a parking lot, but was eventually deemed incompetent to stand trial in that case, the Providence Journal reported.
Blanco — who “appears to be homeless” — did not know the victims when he approached the mom with her daughter in a stroller while she was waiting for her other kids to get out of school, Police Chief Oscar Perez told reporters.
Blanco allegedly hurled insults at the mom, and when she tried to cross the street to get away, he pulled her and attacked her and the tot.
He fled after bystanders intervened, then broke into an elderly woman’s house and hid in the basement, Perez said.
He faces two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and breaking and entering, among other charges.
Blanco’s previously alleged stabbings are part of a nearly 30-year rap sheet that includes charges of assault and battery, breaking and entering, and possession of a stolen vehicle, court records show.
He was arrested for domestic violence in 2024 and released in 2025 into the custody of state health and human services, Perez confirmed to reporters.
Blanco was also deemed incompetent to stand trial after being charged with possession of a stolen vehicle 2018. The Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals claimed he “has an Intellectual Disability Disorder and Schizophrenia,” according to court documents viewed by The Boston Globe.
When pressed on why Blanco was out on the street, the chief said, “I don’t think the system is broken,” but emphasized that law enforcement’s job is to “present the facts to the judicial system” and let them deliver justice.
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