Child stabbed to death outside grocery store

Danielle Langenfeld, Jessica Dill, Laura Morrison and Talia Naquin

16 minutes ago

A woman suspected of stabbing and killing a 3-year-old boy outside a local grocery store is expected to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.

The child and his mother were attacked and stabbed in front of a giant eagle in North Olmsted, Ohio.

According to authorities, around 3 p.m. on Monday, June 3, a mother and her son had just finished shopping and appeared to be heading to their vehicle when a woman dressed in black attacked them with a kitchen knife, stabbing both of them. .

Several shoppers called 911. Responding officers came to provide first aid and quickly arrested Bionca Ellis, 32, of Cleveland, who was found walking toward Dover Center Road, believed to still have the gun in her hand.

(North Olmsted Police Department)

Ellis was scheduled to be arraigned via video from the jail Tuesday afternoon. She was charged with aggravated murder, according to police.

The victims were rushed to St. John Medical Center in Westlake.

Tuesday morning, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner confirmed that Julian Wood, 3, of North Olmsted, died at the hospital. The child's mother, Margot Wood, 38, “was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery,” police said.

Police said the attack appeared to be random and they did not believe the victims interacted before the incident.

North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones released an updated statement Tuesday morning:

Firstly, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to the family of the three-year-old boy who sadly passed away yesterday after being stabbed in a random attack at the North Olmsted Giant Eagle supermarket.

This was a terrible tragedy for our entire community. As the mayor of North Olmsted and a mother myself, I cannot understand what this family must be going through. Losing their youngest child in such a violent and senseless way is absolutely heartbreaking. I know everyone in North Olmsted joins me in sharing their deep grief.

We are all terribly sorry for their loss and I ask everyone to keep them in thought and prayer. Our police department continues to investigate the crime as we try to begin to heal and move forward. I commend all our security forces for their compassion and rapid response following this situation.

The City will provide grief counseling services to all of our employees who require these services. The safety of all our residents continues to be a top priority of my administration.

The police station is directly opposite the Giant Eagle.

This Giant Eagle is the same store where there was a murder-suicide less than a year ago. It was a divorced couple. The store reopened Tuesday morning.

A Giant Eagle spokesperson released a statement to Nexstar's WJW on Tuesday:

“We were heartbroken to learn of the death of the young victim of yesterday’s senseless act of violence. Our thoughts are with the child, his mother and their loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time.

We thank the North Olmsted Mayor’s Office and community first responders for their unwavering commitment. We provide consulting services to our store teams and are ready to support our North Olmsted neighbors however we can.