The suspect accused of attacking a toddler and her mother had been found incompetent in previous criminal cases, including one this summer.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The arrest of a man accused of stabbing a 2-year-old girl and her mother has put new focus on a series of competency findings that previously kept him from standing trial in Rhode Island criminal cases.
Nelson Blanco, 46, was arrested Wednesday after police say he attacked the mother and child near Broad and Public streets in Providence. The toddler was reported in stable but critical condition Thursday, while her mother was treated and released. Blanco appeared in court Thursday on charges that include two counts of assault with intent to commit murder.
The new case comes only months after Blanco was found incompetent to stand trial in another matter. Court records cited by officials show that in July a judge accepted a medical recommendation allowing him to remain on outpatient status after an evaluator concluded he was not likely at that time to imperil the safety of the community or himself.
A finding of incompetency does not decide whether a defendant committed a crime. It concerns whether a person can understand the proceedings and assist in a legal defense. The distinction has become central to the latest case because Blanco has received competency findings in several criminal matters over more than two decades.
His history includes a 2003 case in which authorities accused him of stabbing two 7-year-old boys in Providence. The children survived. Blanco was charged, but court proceedings were affected by repeated findings that he was not competent to stand trial. By 2007, state behavioral health officials had determined there was no reasonable likelihood he would become competent in the foreseeable future, according to court records reported after the latest arrest.
Records also show Blanco was found incompetent in another case after he was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle. More recently, he faced charges stemming from a domestic violence-related case. That proceeding led to the competency finding this summer and the recommendation that he continue receiving treatment outside a hospital setting.
The Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals has declined to discuss Blanco’s individual treatment history, citing patient privacy requirements. That leaves unanswered public questions about when he moved between inpatient and outpatient settings and what information was available to officials making decisions in his prior cases.
Police Chief Oscar Perez resisted describing the broader system as broken when questioned after Wednesday’s attack. He said criminal cases involving competency can move through a complex process involving police, courts and behavioral health professionals. Police, he said, are responsible for investigating alleged crimes and presenting the evidence while judges and other officials make separate decisions about detention and competency.
The latest charges stem from what police described as an unprovoked encounter Wednesday afternoon. Investigators say Blanco approached a woman who was waiting with her 2-year-old daughter for other children to arrive on a school bus. After the mother tried to move away, police allege Blanco approached again and attacked the child and mother with a knife. Authorities have not announced a confirmed motive.
Witnesses intervened, and one followed Blanco as he fled, police said. Authorities say he entered a nearby home and hid in a basement before officers arrested him. Prosecutors said investigators recovered a knife there. The circumstances of the arrest and Blanco’s prior history will now proceed through a new round of court review.
A judge ordered Blanco to undergo another competency evaluation as well as an assessment of dangerousness in connection with the new case. Those evaluations will help determine how the prosecution proceeds, but they do not resolve the criminal allegations against him. Blanco is accused, not convicted, of the offenses filed after Wednesday’s attack.
Blanco remained in custody as the new case moved forward. No motive had been established publicly as of Friday, and authorities had not announced a newer official condition for the toddler beyond the critical condition reported Thursday.
Author note: Last updated October 9, 2026.