The confrontation inside an Omaha Walmart escalated in a matter of minutes, ending with a fatal police shooting after a child was attacked during what authorities describe as an attempted kidnapping.
According to the Omaha Police Department, officers were dispatched shortly after 9:10 a.m. following reports of a woman armed with a large kitchen knife inside the store. Surveillance footage later showed the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Noemi Guzman, taking the knife from the store before approaching a woman shopping with a 3-year-old boy.
Police say Guzman used the weapon to control the situation, forcing the child’s guardian to move ahead while the boy remained in a shopping cart. The sequence continued as she led them through the store and out into the parking lot, maintaining control with the knife. Deputy Chief Scott Gray described the moment Guzman separated control of the child as effectively turning the situation into a kidnapping.
Officers arriving on scene located Guzman in the parking lot, still armed and positioned near the cart with the child inside. Authorities say commands were issued repeatedly, instructing her to drop the knife. According to police, those commands were ignored.
The situation turned critical when Guzman slashed the child. Body-worn camera images reportedly show her holding the knife near the boy’s face in the moments before officers opened fire. Two officers discharged their weapons, striking Guzman.
As soon as she was down, the child’s guardian and a bystander rushed in to pull the boy from the cart and begin providing aid. The child suffered a deep cut across the left side of his face and an injury to his hand but is expected to survive after receiving hospital treatment.
Guzman was given medical assistance at the scene but was pronounced dead.
Police leadership characterized the officers’ actions as a direct response to an immediate threat to the child’s life. Chief Todd Schmaderer stated that the officers acted decisively under extreme circumstances, emphasizing the urgency of the situation once the child was attacked.
The incident is now under review by the Omaha Police Department’s Officer-Involved Investigations Team, with assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol and local sheriff’s offices. As is standard in such cases, investigators will examine body camera footage, witness statements, and forensic evidence to determine whether the use of force aligned with department policy and state law.
