Boy, 3, stabbed to death by woman in grocery store parking lot
A three-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a woman in a seemingly random attack at a grocery store parking lot.
The boy and his mother were heading from the Giant Eagle grocery in North Olmsted, Ohio, to their car when a woman ran to them wielding a kitchen knife, police said.
She stabbed both the child and his mother shortly after 3pm on Monday.
First responders quickly provided first aid and both were rushed from the 27200 block of Lorain Road to St John Medical Center.
The boy was slashed on the back and cheek and pronounced dead at the hospital, reported WOIO.
He has been identified as Julian Wood by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner.
His mother, Margot Wood, 38, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to fully recover.
‘We were heartbroken to learn of the passing of the young victim in yesterday’s senseless act of violence,’ stated Giant Eagle, according to the TV station. ‘Our thoughts are with the child, his mother and their loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time.’
Cops found the suspect still holding the knife and walking toward Dover Center Road, stated Captain Eric Morgan. She was taken into custody without incident at the scene and identified as Bionca Ellis, 32, of Cleveland.
Ellis has been charged with aggravated murder and booked into North Olmsted Jail. She was expected to make her first appearance in Rocky River Municipal Court on Tuesday afternoon.
A county grand jury will hear the case, and Ellis may face additional charges.
Ellis had not interacted with the boy and his mother in the past.
‘Everything learned thus far points that this was a random act of violence,’ stated Det Sgt Matthew Beck.
Ellis has no criminal history. She was charged with stealing from a Walmart last year, but convicted of a reduced charge of unauthorized property use, court records show.
‘Our hearts go out to the two victims of what appears to be a random act of violence,’ stated North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones, according to ABC News.
‘As North Olmsted Mayor, and a mother myself, I cannot fathom what this family must be going through. To lose their youngest child in such a violent and senseless manner is absolutely heartbreaking.
‘I know that all the residents of North Olmsted join me in sharing their profound grief.’
The fatal stabbing happened more than a year-and-a-half after an alleged shoplifter at a Giants grocery store in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and a security guard shot at each other at the entryway and both ended up dead.
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