Daijiworld Media Network – Omaha

Omaha, Apr 15: Police fatally shot a 31-year-old woman after she allegedly attempted to kidnap a three-year-old boy and injured him with a knife at a Walmart store in Omaha on Tuesday morning.

According to authorities, the woman, identified as Noemi Guzman, had taken a knife from inside the store and was seen holding it to the child, who was seated in a shopping cart. Police said she made multiple threats and refused to comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon.

Deputy Police Chief Scott Gray said officers opened fire after the suspect slashed the child across the face. “There is video that shows the suspect swiping the knife at the child,” he said, adding that the officers acted immediately to prevent further harm. The woman was declared dead at the scene.

The injured child was rushed to hospital with a significant facial cut but is expected to recover. Officials described the injury as non-life-threatening.

Police said the child was inside the store with a caretaker when the woman approached them, produced a knife, and forcibly took control of the child, effectively initiating a kidnapping. She then compelled the caretaker to walk out of the store while keeping the knife to the child.

A distress call was made to emergency services around 9:13 am, with a woman heard asking for police assistance while another voice in the background repeatedly said, “Stop. Keep walking.”
Officers reached the scene within minutes and encountered the suspect outside the store, where a tense standoff ensued before the shooting.

Preliminary findings suggest the knife used in the attack may have been shoplifted from the store. Police said there is no indication that the suspect knew the child or the caretaker, and the motive remains unclear.

In a statement, Walmart said it is cooperating with law enforcement, adding that “violence like this is unacceptable.”