3-year-old boy fatally stabbed in random attack at Ohio Giant Eagle

A 3-year-old boy was killed in an apparently random stabbing outside a Cleveland-area grocery store, authorities said Monday.

The boy and his mother were attacked shortly after 3 p.m. in the parking lot of a Giant Eagle supermarket in North Olmsted, a western suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, police said in a news release.

When police arrived at the scene, witnesses described the suspect, who was then located on Dover Center Road and arrested.

The suspect, later identified as 32-year-old Bionca Ellis, was reportedly still carrying the knife used in the attack when she was arrested, local television station WEWS reported.

The two victims, described by North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones as “a customer and her three-year-old son,” were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

“Our deepest condolences go out to the two victims of this apparently random act of violence,” Jones said in a statement Monday afternoon.

The female victim was identified by local media as 38-year-old Margot Wood of North Olmsted. She was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover, Cleveland 19 reported.

Her son, three-year-old Julian Wood, succumbed to his injuries.

Ellis has been charged with aggravated murder, and additional charges are expected to be filed once the case is presented to a Cuyahoga County grand jury.

According to police, Ellis had no previous contact with the victims and is not known to have a violent criminal past.

“Everything we have learned so far indicates that this was a random act of violence,” said Det. Sgt. Matthew Beck.

Ellis is expected to appear in court later Tuesday.