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A North Carolina woman has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a pregnant mother with a steak knife in the parking lot of a popular grocery store.
Marvina Butler–Hardy, 40, was taken into custody Monday, according to the Charlotte–Mecklenburg Police Department.
She is accused of attacking the pregnant woman as she was getting her three–year–old son out of the car outside of a Harris Teeter in the Cotswold neighborhood of Charlotte around 11.30am on March 18.
Butler–Hardy, of Waxhaw, has at least nine prior convictions, including six felonies and three misdemeanors.
She was released from prison last April and completed post–release supervision in January, according to Fox News Digital.
Butler–Hardy has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery of an unborn child.
The pregnant mother, who has not been named by authorities, said she did not know Butler–Hardy and had no idea why she attacked her.
'I'm hoping this charge is enough to keep her behind bars, that's for sure,' she told WSOC TV. 'I don't know the amount of mug shots you see of this woman. You wouldn't think that she would be on the streets.'
Marvina Butler–Hardy, 40, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery of an unborn child after stabbing a pregnant woman with a steak knife
The steak knife attack happened outside of a Harris Teeter in the Cotswold neighborhood of Charlotte around 11.30am on March 18
The woman suffered non–life–threatening injuries and was expected to make a full recovery.
Witnesses attempted to help her after she was stabbed by Butler–Hardy.
'Someone was just stabbed by someone,' a caller told the dispatcher. 'They got out of their car and stabbed them.'
Another witness added: 'We need medic pronto. We're at the Sharon Amity Harris Teeter.'
The calls appeared to confirm that the woman was 38 years old.
The pregnant mother said she had been stabbed in the middle of the chest and that the steak knife hit bone, just narrowly missing major organs.
She added that she would be left with a scar from the heinous attack.
Her unborn child, as well as the child she was taking out of the car, were not injured.
'[It] definitely brings relief knowing that she isn't out there to do it to other people, or me, again,' she told the outlet.
Butler–Hardy was arrested on Monday, according to the Charlotte–Mecklenburg Police Department
Her silver Hyundai was spotted by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, who then arrested Butler-Hardy about 450 miles from where the stabbing took place
Last week, Charlotte–Mecklenburg police released surveillance footage of Butler–Hardy and her car, as they asked for help identifying her.
Police said her vehicle had a taped–up window and a paper tag, urging the public to focus on her car's condition.
On Monday, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper received a 'Be On The Lookout' alert for a silver Hyundai heading south from the Jacksonville area on I–95, according to WFLA.
The trooper spotted a silver Hyundai being driven by a woman but did not spot the taped–up window or paper tag.
However, the car's windshield had a large crack obstructing her view, causing the trooper to pull her over.
Butler–Hardy allegedly only gave the officer an ID card, explaining that her license was suspended.
Her name was then given to another officer, who confirmed she was a suspect in the stabbing.
Butler–Hardy was subsequently arrested, about 450 miles from where the stabbing happened, and taken to Florida's Flagler County Jail.
The woman was helping her three-year-old son out of the car in the parking lot (pictured) when she was attacked by Butler-Hardy
Butler–Hardy is being held at the Flagler County Jail in Florida and will eventually beextradited to Mecklenburg County in North Carolina
A search of the car later found a North Carolina paper tag in the back seat. The tape on the window seemed to have been removed.
Butler–Hardy will soon be extradited to Mecklenburg County, though an exact date for that remained unclear.
A worker at the Cotswold shopping center where the stabbing took place said she was horrified by the gruesome attack.
'That really took me aback,' Sarah Click told WBTV. 'I had no idea something like that would happen up here at all.'
Click said: 'The immediate thing that I thought of was someone just coming at you like this, like a horror film.'
She explained that the parking lot stabbing had frightened her and that she would stay on high alert going forward.
'I was actually really scared at first, especially knowing that I do closing shifts sometimes,' Click said.
'Sometimes it is dark when I get out of work, and knowing that random attacks are happening in a place where I typically feel really safe definitely made me really worried,' she added.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Charlotte–Mecklenburg Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol for further comment.