3-year-old boy randomly killed in front of grocery store

A 3-year-old Ohio boy was fatally stabbed by a woman while sitting in a grocery cart in a supermarket parking lot. Investigators said Tuesday they believe it was a random attack, the AP reports. The boy's mother was also stabbed, but her injuries were not life-threatening, the sergeant said. Matt Beck, a North Olmsted police detective. Officers arrested Bionca Ellis, 32, of Cleveland, Monday as she walked away from the scene with a knife in her hand, police said. She is being held for aggravated murder. His bond was set at $1 million during a hearing Tuesday, Fox 8 reports.

Ellis was inside the Giant Eagle grocery store when she saw the boy and his mother near the store's entrance, then followed them to the parking lot in North Olmsted, a Cleveland suburb, said Beck. The boy's mother was about to load her groceries into her vehicle when Ellis rushed toward them with a knife, stabbing them both, police said. The boy later died in 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 prior interactions with the mother and son.

Police said Margot Wood was “treated for non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.” Beck later said that although she would recover physically, she would likely face emotional trauma for “the rest of her life,” according to Fox 8. “As the mayor of North Olmsted and a mother myself, I don't “I can't understand what this family must be going through,” said Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones. “To lose their youngest child in such a violent and senseless way is absolutely heartbreaking.” (More Ohio stories.)