Police fatally shoot woman who grabbed child, slashed him with a knife
OMAHA, Neb. — Omaha police on Tuesday shot and killed a woman who they say struck a young boy with a knife outside a Walmart after taking him from another woman inside the store.
The suspect approached a female customer and a 2- or 3-year-old boy, then displayed a large knife she had shoplifted from the store and “took possession of the child, essentially kidnapping him,” Deputy Chief Scott Gray said.
The suspect told the woman to walk in front of the shopping cart, and she followed him with the child at knifepoint, Gray said. They exited the store and down an aisle where the two women engaged in “verbal exchanges” for several minutes until officers arrived, Gray said.
After receiving a 911 call, police arrived outside the Walmart and gave commands to the suspect, at which point she began “running the knife over the child, cutting him in the face,” Gray said. At least one police officer shot the suspect and she died instantly.
Body-worn camera footage released by police shows the woman raising a knife at the young boy sitting in a shopping cart as the officer points a gun at her.
The child was being treated at a hospital for a large laceration to the left side of his face and one hand, Gray said. He is expected to survive.
It’s unclear what exactly provoked the suspect. Gray said the two women did not know each other. The relationship between the boy and his caretaker was unclear.
Police are reviewing video from the store. The event appears to be an isolated incident, Gray said. The Walmart was largely empty as police continued their investigation, he said.
Actions inside the store wouldn’t necessarily have caught the attention of other shoppers, he said.
“They’re coming out of the store deliberately but casually, so I don’t think anyone considered them suspicious of anything,” Gray said.
The police shooting will be investigated by Omaha Police, with assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol and the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office.
