Omaha police say they shot and killed a woman Tuesday after she allegedly took a small child from another shopper inside a Walmart and slashed him with a knife outside the store.
Deputy Chief Scott Gray said the woman approached a female shopper and a 2- or 3-year-old boy, displayed a large knife she had shoplifted and “took possession of the child, essentially kidnapping the child.” She reportedly forced the woman to walk in front of a shopping cart while holding the child at knifepoint as they left the store.
The two women walked down a driveway and exchanged words for several minutes until officers arrived following a 911 call, Gray said. When police gave the suspect commands, she began swiping the knife at the child and cut him across the face, an act that was captured on video, Gray said.
At least one officer fired at the suspect, who died at the scene. Police released body-worn camera stills that show the woman holding a knife over the child in a shopping cart while an officer aims a firearm.
The boy was taken to a hospital with what Gray described as a “rather large laceration” on the left side of his face and an injury to one hand; he is expected to survive.
Gray said the two women did not appear to know each other, and the relationship between the child and his caretaker has not been made clear. The suspect had not been publicly identified.
Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from inside the store. Gray said the Walmart was largely empty at the time and the pair left the store in a way that did not attract immediate attention from other shoppers.
The shooting is being investigated by Omaha police with assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol and the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office.