A 21-year-old Waco man is facing a felony charge after police say he stabbed his own mother in the neck inside a Target store, then fled on foot before being tracked down at a nearby Jack in the Box. Ashley Norwood was found lying on the floor next to a pool of blood when officers arrived, and bystanders helped her sit up because she could not speak, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit described in news reports.
Galveston Elijah Vriseno is charged with aggravated assault of a family member causing serious bodily injury, according to KWTX. Waco police officers were dispatched to the Target in the 5400 block of Bosque Boulevard on Nov. 8 to respond to a possible domestic disturbance involving a stabbing, with the affidavit placing the call around 2:22 p.m., though a separate account from the same station put the dispatch time at roughly 2:23 p.m. that Sunday.
Surveillance Footage Captured the Attack
The affidavit describes Norwood with a stab wound to the left side of her neck. Camera footage reviewed by officers reportedly showed Norwood and Vriseno walking around the store's optical area before the attack, and then showed Vriseno stabbing his mother with a knife and running out of the store toward the intersection, per the same report. Because Norwood could not speak when officers arrived, witnesses on scene provided a description of what Vriseno had been wearing.
Vriseno was found at a Jack in the Box across the street from the Target, wearing the same clothing witnesses had described, including a blanket. According to the affidavit, he appeared to be trying to get rid of the blanket and other items by throwing them in the trash and washing blood off his hands. Vriseno reportedly admitted that a knife in his front left cargo pocket was the weapon he used to stab his mother.
Sister Told Police of Earlier Warning Signs
Vriseno's sister called police while they were looking for him and told officers that he had made comments two days earlier claiming the Illuminati had told him to kill his mother and his sister, the outlet reported. Norwood was taken to a local hospital, where she underwent surgery; her daughter said she is in stable condition.
Vriseno was being held on a $100,000 bond, according to WBTV. The station also reported that Vriseno was arrested earlier this year for allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend following an argument over a car part, and was charged with assault of a pregnant woman, a third-degree felony.
Under Texas law, a person commits assault if they intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly cause bodily injury to another, according to the Texas Constitution and Statutes. That statutory language does not determine whether the allegations against Vriseno meet the elements of the charge or establish guilt in this case.
