Horror as toddler stabbed to death in random attack outside grocery store

A three-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in a random attack in a grocery store car park.

Police said the toddler was stabbed by a woman in a grocery store parking lot in Ohio in what investigators believe was a totally random attack.

The boy and his mother were going back to their car after shopping at the Giant Eagle grocery on Monday when a woman ran at them with a knife, stabbing both of them, police said.

The little boy and his mother were both stabbed at around 3pm about 15 miles outside of Cleveland. He later died in hospital.

The boy suffered stab wounds to the back and cheek, police said. His mother survived with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Pictures from the scene show a car with groceries scattered around it.

A 32-year-old woman was taken into custody at the scene in North Olmsted, a Cleveland suburb, police said. The suspect and the victims didn’t know each other, police said.

The county medical examiner identified the boy as three-year-old Julian Wood.

In a statement, Giant Eagle said, “We are aware of the reported incident and are working with the authorities. For the moment, they (the authorities) are the best source for information.”

Elsewhere in Ohio, police investigating a shooting at a street party in Akron over the weekend think at least one person opened fire on the crowd from a vehicle, killing one person and wounding 24 others.

Investigators found more than 35 shell casings littered across the block where the shooting happened early Sunday while more than 100 people were celebrating someone’s birthday, police Chief Brian Harding said.

They also found two handguns at the scene, and believe some partygoers returned fire at the vehicle, the chief said. Plastic cups, shoes and other debris were scattered along the residential street bounded by empty lots and older homes.

No suspects had been identified as of Sunday night, and the mayor and police chief called on witnesses to come forward. Rewards totaling $22,500 for information leading to an arrest were offered by the Summit County Crime Stoppers, U.S. Marshal’s Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Akron officials said.