Woman killed by police at Omaha Walmart after allegedly kidnapping, slashing child

Omaha police on Tuesday shot and killed a woman they say slashed a young boy with a knife outside of a Walmart after taking him from another woman inside the store.

The suspect approached a female shopper 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 the child,” Deputy Chief Scott Gray said.

The suspect told the woman to walk in front of the shopping cart, and she followed with the child at knifepoint, Gray said. They proceeded out of the store and down a driveway where the two women had “some verbal back and forth” for several minutes until officers arrived, Gray said.

After receiving a 911 call, police arrived outside the Walmart and gave the suspect commands, at which point she began “swiping the knife at the child, cutting him across the face, ” Gray said, adding the slashing was captured on video. At least one officer fired at the suspect, and she died at the scene.

Body-worn camera images police released show the woman raising a knife over the young boy sitting in a shopping cart as the officer aims a gun at her.

The child was being treated at a hospital for a “rather large laceration” across the left side of his face and to one of his hands, Gray said. He is expected to survive.

It is unclear what provoked the suspect. Gray said the two women did not know each other. The relationship between the boy and his caretaker wasn’t clear. The suspect was not immediately identified.

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.

The actions inside the store wouldn’t necessarily have drawn attention from other shoppers, he said.

“They kind of just purposely but casually walk out of the store, so I don’t think anybody was actually looking at them as being a suspect of anything,” Gray said.

The police shooting will be investigated by Omaha police with help from the Nebraska State Patrol and the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office.