A routine shopping trip at an Omaha Walmart turned into a nightmare when a knife-wielding woman allegedly tried to abduct a toddler in the parking lot, slashing the child before police fatally shot her.
According to The Post Millennial, 31-year-old Noemi Guzman had been ruled to be a danger to herself and others just a year earlier, yet remained in the community under court supervision. Police were called to the store around 9:20 am, where they found Guzman in the parking lot holding a knife to a 3-year-old boy, Kyler, who had been taken from a shopping cart after Guzman allegedly threatened the caregiver and forced them outside. The knife, authorities said, had been stolen, and Guzman used it to cut the child on his arm and face before officers intervened.
Officers issued verbal commands, but Guzman reportedly did not respond, leaving police with seconds to act as the childs life hung in the balance. Authorities later acknowledged they did not yet know why Guzman targeted the boy or what motivated the attack. The person with the child was actually shopping inside the Walmart, said Executive Deputy Chief of the Omaha Police Department Scott Gray, when she was approached by the suspect. The suspect swiped the knife at the child, cutting him across the face. Officers at that time, at least one officer, fired their weapon.
Kyler, whose parents call him their little cowboy, underwent surgery at Childrens Nebraska and is recovering from his injuries. His survival underscores both the bravery of responding officers and the profound failure of a system that had already flagged his attacker as dangerous.
Court records show that in 2024 Guzman was accused of stabbing her father and breaking into a church rectory, only to be found not responsible by reason of insanity when the case went to trial. She was ordered into rehabilitation in an outpatient capacity, and by June 2025 authorities had determined she was schizophrenic and mentally ill.
At that time, officials concluded Guzman remains a danger to herself and others, and should remain under the jurisdiction of the court, yet still allowed that she could continue to reside in the community with family support unless otherwise recommended by her community treatment team. A one-year review was scheduled, but it is unclear whether that safeguard was ever carried out, raising serious questions about lenient mental-health rulings and public safety in an era when violent offenders are too often cycled back into the community.
Login