3-year-old killed, mother injured in random stabbing in US grocery store car park

The scene of the attack and the young victim Julian Wood (inset). Photo / AP/GoFundMe

A 3-year-old boy was fatally stabbed by a woman as he sat in a trolley in a US supermarket carpark in what investigators believe was a random attack.

Officers arrested 32-year-old Bionca Ellis, of Cleveland, while she was walking away from the scene with a knife in her hand on Monday police said. She was being held on a charge of aggravated murder.

Ellis was inside the Giant Eagle grocery when she saw the boy and his mother near the front of the store and followed them into the parking lot in North Olmsted, a Cleveland suburb, Beck said.

The boy’s mother was also stabbed, but her injuries were not life-threatening, Sergeant Matt Beck, a detective with North Olmsted police, said.

Julian Wood. Photo / GoFundMe

The boy’s mother was about to load her groceries into her vehicle when Ellis ran at them with a knife, police said. The boy later died at a hospital.

The county medical examiner identified the boy as 3-year-old Julian Wood. His mother, Margot Wood, was treated at a hospital, police said. Investigators said Ellis had no known previous interactions with the mother and her son.

Bionca Elli. Photo / North Olmsted Police Department

Calls to a listing for Ellis went unanswered yesterday. It was not clear whether she has a lawyer.

“Our hearts go out to the two victims of what appears to be a random act of violence,” North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones said, 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 Giant Eagle chain said they were “heartbroken to learn of the passing of the young victim” and added: “Our thoughts are with the child, his mother and their loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time”.

- Additional reporting, NZ Herald