An arrest affidavit says the suspect’s sister reported he had previously claimed the Illuminati told him to kill family members.
WACO, TX — A 21-year-old man is accused of stabbing his mother inside a Waco Target before fleeing the store Sunday, according to police and an arrest warrant affidavit that describes statements he allegedly made about the Illuminati in the days before the attack.
Galveston Elijah Vriseno is charged with aggravated assault of a family member causing serious bodily injury in connection with the Nov. 8 attack. His mother, Ashley Norwood, was taken to a local hospital and underwent surgery. She was reported in stable condition after the attack, according to the most recent information available from local reporting.
Waco police officers were sent at about 2:22 p.m. to the Target in the 5400 block of Bosque Boulevard for a reported domestic disturbance involving a stabbing. The affidavit says officers arrived to find Norwood injured near the store’s optical area. She was unable to speak at the time, and witnesses gave officers a description of the person who had left the store, according to the document.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage from inside the Target, according to the affidavit. The document says the video showed Norwood and Vriseno walking near the optical department before Vriseno allegedly attacked his mother with a knife and ran from the building. Police said he fled toward a nearby intersection after the assault.
At about 4 p.m., officers learned that Vriseno had called and was at a Jack in the Box in the 5100 block of Bosque Boulevard, the affidavit states. Officers found him wearing clothing that matched descriptions from witnesses and footage from the store. The affidavit also alleges that officers saw him discarding a blanket and other items and washing what appeared to be blood from his hands.
After officers advised Vriseno of his Miranda rights, an officer asked him about a knife found in a cargo pocket, according to the affidavit. The document states that Vriseno acknowledged the knife was the one he had used against his mother. The statements described in the affidavit are allegations contained in a court document and have not been tested at trial.
The affidavit also describes information provided by Vriseno’s sister while police were searching for him. She told investigators that two days before the stabbing, Vriseno had made comments claiming the Illuminati had told him to kill his mother and his sister. Authorities have not established that claim as an independently verified motive for the attack. The Illuminati name is widely associated today with conspiracy theories about a supposed secret organization controlling major events.
Police have not publicly announced additional evidence establishing why the attack occurred. The affidavit’s description of Vriseno’s alleged statements does not establish the existence of such a group or show that the conspiracy claim was factual. It records what investigators say family members and Vriseno told authorities as they investigated the assault.
KWTX previously reported that Vriseno was arrested in January in a separate case involving allegations that he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend following an argument. He was charged at the time with assault of a pregnant woman, a third-degree felony. The available reporting reviewed for this story does not establish how that earlier case was resolved, and the January allegations are separate from the current Target case.
Vriseno was being held on a $100,000 bond in the latest case, according to local reporting. No plea or next court date was identified in the available reports. The aggravated assault charge remains an allegation, and the case has not resulted in a conviction. Norwood’s most recently reported condition was stable following surgery.
Author note: Last updated Nov. 11, 2026.