Police fatally shoot woman after knife attack on child at Omaha Walmart

Omaha police are investigating how a shopping trip turned into a fast-moving knife attack that ended with officers fatally shooting a 31-year-old woman and rushing a 3-year-old boy to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police identified the woman as Noemi Guzman and said the violence began inside the Walmart near 72nd and Pine Street on Tuesday morning. The first 911 call came at about 9:13 a.m., after a female caller requested help and another caller reported a woman with a large kitchen knife and a young child. A two-officer patrol unit arrived around 9:20 a.m. and found Guzman near the southern parking lot entrance, standing by a shopping cart with the boy inside.

Investigators said Guzman had shoplifted the knife from the store, approached the child and his caretaker inside Walmart, and forced the caretaker to walk ahead of the cart before directing them through the store and into the parking lot. Police said Guzman made multiple threats with the knife and refused repeated commands to drop it. Officers then fired after she cut the child.

Police said the child’s guardian and a bystander removed him from the cart and rendered aid before responders took him to Children’s Hospital. Officials said his injuries were not life-threatening and that he is expected to recover. No officers were injured.

The shooting has put attention on the split-second decisions officers face when a child is in immediate danger and an armed suspect refuses commands in a crowded retail setting. Omaha police Chief Todd Schmaderer said the officers acted with professionalism and direct action to intervene and save a child’s life. Mayor John W. Ewing Jr. said he was grateful for the department’s professionalism and transparency.

The Omaha Police Department said body-worn camera and surveillance footage captured parts of the incident. The department’s Officer-Involved Investigations Team is being assisted by the Nebraska State Patrol, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office. The officers involved have been placed on paid critical incident leave, which is standard policy.

Walmart said violence like this is unacceptable and said it is working with police. The case now raises urgent questions that reach beyond one store in Omaha: how retailers detect threats before they escalate, how police weigh immediate intervention against the risk to a child, and how communities prepare for rare but high-trauma incidents that unfold in seconds.