A 3-year-old Ohio boy died Monday after he and his mother were stabbed in the parking lot of a grocery store.
Margot Wood, 38, and her son, Julian, were shopping at the Giant Eagle in North Olmsted, a suburb southwest of Cleveland, when they were stabbed at about 3 p.m., according to WOIO-TV.
First responders took the boy and his mother to St. John Medical Center, where Julian died.
North Olmsted police said Wood was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Bionca Ellis, 32, of Cleveland, was arrested and charged with aggravated murder, according to WOIO.
North Olmsted police say they have arrested 32-year-old Bionca Ellis in connection to a stabbing at Giant Eagle
Story: https://t.co/RaGxMy7kjV pic.twitter.com/v7g0EmJ5Ar— Cleveland 19 News (@cleveland19news) June 3, 2024
Det. Sgt. Matthew Beck said the motive was under investigation but “everything learned thus far points that this was a random act of violence.”
Citing court records, WOIO reported that Ellis was charged last year with stealing from a Walmart and later pleaded guilty to a charge of unauthorized use of property.
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Shoppers at the store were stunned, according to WEWS-TV in Cleveland.
“I am just completely shocked because I have grown up here my whole life, so I was just even shocked to hear that that happened,” Abby Weaver said. “It’s just tragic to hear that it happened so close to our home.”
“It kinda sucks, you can’t go to the grocery store and you have to worry about being assaulted,” Al Zelek said.
A toddler and a woman were stabbed in the parking lot of the Giant Eagle grocery store on Lorain Road in North Olmsted at around 3 p.m. Monday.
— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) June 3, 2024
North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones issued a statement.
“I am deeply saddened by an incident this afternoon in the parking lot of the North Olmsted Giant Eagle Supermarket. A female, who is currently in the custody of North Olmsted Police, stabbed a female customer and her three-year-old son,” Jones said.
“Our hearts go out to the two victims of what appears to be a random act of violence,” the statement said.
Some shoppers at the store said the attack is a symptom of a deeper problem, according to WJW-TV in Cleveland.
“It’s just crazy,” Ben Hymes said. “Society is going downhill quick.”
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Toddler dies after random attack outside of a local Giant Eagle. Details are in the story link below.https://t.co/ySfADJENtX
— fox8news (@fox8news) June 4, 2024
“You can’t really trust anybody. And if you make eye contact with the wrong person you never know if they’re going to physically do something,” Randy Adams said.
This is the same Giant Eagle where a murder-suicide took place in June 2023.
