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Published 11:31 15 Apr 2026 GMT
Yesterday, a 31-year-old woman was shot dead by cops outside a Walmart in Omaha, Nebraska, after she slashed a toddler with a knife during an alleged abduction.
Police bodycam footage of the attack has sparked massive outrage after the triggering video of a three-year-old being slashed across the face was shown across news channels and went viral on social media.
The terrifying video shows the woman wielding a knife while she pulls along a shopping cart with the little boy sitting inside it.
Surveillance footage also showed Guzman shoplifting the knife from the store before approaching the boy and his caregiver in an aisle.
Noemi Guzman has since been identified as the suspect shot by police but who is she and what was her relation to the child she attacked?
The now-deceased woman first encountered the child with his caregiver inside Walmart just moments before the attack and, using a knife from the shop to intimidate she "took possession of the child, essentially kidnapping the child," Omaha Deputy Police Chief Scott Gray said.
The officer also confirmed that Guzman refused to comply with the responding officer and provoked him by cutting the child’s face with the knife she was wielding.
Seconds after she slashed the child the officer fired the bullet that killed her, likely in fear that she was about to kill the child.
Two officers confronted Guzman in the parking lot as she stood by the cart with the child inside, as she made threats with the knife, ignoring pleas from cops to put the weapon down before she savagely attacked the boy, according to authorities.
It is believed the suspect is known to the police as records of the most recent charges against Guzman were documented alongside a mugshot from an arrest, but the reason for it is currently unknown.
There are currently no known links between the toddler victim, their family or the caregiver they were accompanied by at the time and Guzman, making the attack’s motivation a mystery.
Retail giant Walmart has issued a statement in response to the ordeal, as the child was attacked and the perpetrator was shot dead on its premises.
A spokesperson for Walmart told the media that they are working with the police and "violence like this is unacceptable."
