The latest case involves his mother, while a separate January arrest involved allegations that he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend.
WACO, Texas — A Waco man accused of stabbing his mother inside a Target on Sunday had been arrested earlier this year in a separate case involving allegations that he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend, according to arrest records described in local reporting.
Galveston Elijah Vriseno, 21, now faces a charge of aggravated assault of a family member causing serious bodily injury in connection with the Nov. 8 attack at the Target in the 5400 block of Bosque Boulevard. His mother, Ashley Norwood, underwent surgery after the attack and was most recently reported in stable condition.
The two cases are separate, and the existence of an earlier arrest does not establish guilt in either matter. Available reporting does not show how the January case was resolved. In the current case, Vriseno was being held on a $100,000 bond after police said he fled the Target and was later taken into custody.
In January, police arrested Vriseno after responding to a McDonald’s in the 900 block of South Sixth Street, according to an arrest warrant reported at the time. His girlfriend told officers that Vriseno had pulled her hair and assaulted her during an argument involving a vehicle part. She told police she was 11 weeks pregnant.
Officers later located Vriseno near a bus station. According to the January warrant, he acknowledged knowing that his girlfriend was pregnant and admitted assaulting her after an argument over the vehicle and its keys. He was charged at the time with assault of a pregnant woman, a third-degree felony. No disposition of that case was available in the sources reviewed for this report.
The latest arrest followed a much more serious injury allegation involving a member of Vriseno’s family. Waco police were called to the Target at about 2:22 p.m. Sunday. An arrest affidavit says officers found Norwood injured inside the store while witnesses helped police identify the person who had fled.
Surveillance video reviewed by officers showed Norwood and Vriseno walking near the store’s optical area before the attack, according to the affidavit. Vriseno then ran from the store. Police located him about 90 minutes later at a Jack in the Box in the 5100 block of Bosque Boulevard, the document states.
The affidavit also describes a warning investigators received from Vriseno’s sister while officers were searching for him. She told police that Vriseno had made statements two days earlier about the Illuminati telling him to kill his mother and sister. Authorities have not presented that statement as an independently established motive, and the claim remains an allegation contained in the affidavit.
According to the document, officers found Vriseno with a knife in a cargo pocket. After being advised of his Miranda rights, he acknowledged using the knife against his mother, the affidavit says. Investigators also alleged that he had been throwing away items and washing what appeared to be blood from his hands when officers located him.
The current charge remains pending, and Vriseno is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The available reports did not identify his next court date or indicate whether he had entered a plea. Police have continued to describe the Target incident as an aggravated assault investigation.
Author note: Last updated November 10, 2026.