June 4 (UPI) — A 3-year-old boy has died from wounds in a stabbing attack Monday afternoon in North Olmsted, Ohio, in which his mother also was stabbed.
The attack occurred shortly after 3 p.m. outside a Giant Eagle grocery store on the 27200 block of Lorain Road in North Olmsted, which is about 17 miles southwest of Cleveland.
The Cuyahoga County medical examiner on Tuesday morning said the boy, Julian Wood, died from his injuries.
He suffered stab wounds to his face and back.
The boy’s mother, Margot Wood, 28, of North Olmsted also was stabbed in the shoulder during the attack.
She did not suffer life-threatening injuries and should recover from her wounds, officials said.
Margot Wood had finished checking out and was walking with her son to her car with a cart containing groceries when Ellis allegedly attacked them with a kitchen knife while she was dressed in black.
Several witnesses called 911, and North Olmsted police officers provided emergency aid to the boy and his mother until both were transported to St. John Medical Center in Westlake, where the boy died.
North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones in an updated statement Tuesday called the event a “terrible tragedy for our entire community.”
“I cannot fathom what this family must be going through,” Dailey Jones said. “To lose their youngest child in such a violent and senseless manner is absolutely heartbreaking.”
North Olmsted police said they located suspect Bionca Ellis, 32, of Cleveland, as she walked toward Dover Center Road while carrying the kitchen knife she allegedly used in the attack.
Police arrested Ellis without incident. She was charged with aggravated murder and had her bond set at $1 million Tuesday morning.
Local police said the attack appeared to be random and Margo Woods didn’t know Ellis.
Police officers said surveillance video shows Ellis getting the knife from a Volunteers of America store located nearby.
Video footage also shows her walking past Margo and Julian Wood outside the Giant Eagle store before following them back in while holding the knife prior to the attack that lasted about five seconds.
Ellis then walked away from the scene, refused to speak with detectives when arrested and demanded legal representation, police said.
Local media reported Ellis doesn’t have a history of criminal violence.
She previously was arrested in Florida due to a non-violent crime and in 2023 was arrested in North Olmsted for petty theft at a Walmart store.
North Olmsted police said Ellis pleaded guilty to the petty theft charge and was placed on probation.
She was arrested last week for allegedly violating her probation, held for court and on Monday visited the police station seeking property she had left there.