Son stabs his mom at Target, claims the Illuminati told him to kill her, affidavit says

Share Add Us On Google Add as a preferred source on Google WACO, Texas ( KWTX /Gray News) - A 21-year-old Texas man remains behind bars after stabbing his mother at Target and claiming the Illuminati told him to kill her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Galveston Elijah Vriseno, 21, is accused of stabbing his mother in the neck at Target and claiming the Illuminati told him to do it, an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by KWTX states. He is charged with aggravated assault of a family member causing serious bodily injury. The Illuminati was a secret society founded in 1776 that is now the subject of conspiracy theories claiming a hidden group controls world events. Victim found lying next to ‘a pool of blood’ Waco police officers were dispatched to a possible domestic disturbance involving a stabbing at Target around 2:22 p.m. Sunday. Upon arrival, officers found the victim, Ashley Norwood, lying on the floor next to “a pool of blood.” The affidavit describes a stab wound to the left side of Norwood’s neck. Bystanders helped the victim sit up when officers arrived. She could not speak at the time, so witnesses provided a description of what Vriseno was wearing at the time of the assault, the affidavit states. Officers reviewed camera footage of the assault in which they saw Norwood and Vriseno walking around the store’s optical area. The affidavit describes Vriseno stabbing his mother with a knife and running out of the store right after. Around 4 p.m., officers were informed Vriseno had called police. He was found at a Jack in the Box across the street from Target, wearing the same clothing that witnesses previously described, including a blanket. When officers found Vriseno, it appeared he was trying to get rid of the blanket and other items witnesses described by throwing them in the trash and washing the blood off his hands, the affidavit states. After Vriseno was advised of his Miranda rights, the arresting officer asked if the knife in his front left cargo pocket was the weapon he used to stab his mom, and Vriseno admitted it was, according to the affidavit. Suspect claimed Illuminati told him to kill mother, sister says Vriseno’s sister called police while they were looking for him and said Vriseno made comments two days earlier that the Illuminati told him to kill his mother and sister. Norwood was taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery and is in stable condition, according to her daughter. Vriseno was being held on a $100,000 bond. Earlier this year, Vriseno was arrested for allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend after they argued over a car part, according to an arrest warrant. He was charged with assault of a pregnant woman, a third-degree felony. Copyright 2026 KWTX via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.