Woman killed by police after slashing child in attempted kidnapping at Walmart

Omaha police fatally shot a woman Tuesday after she allegedly slashed a young boy with a knife outside a Walmart, authorities said.

Investigators say the incident began inside the store, where the suspect approached a woman and a 2- or 3-year-old boy, brandished a large knife and “took possession of the child, essentially kidnapping the child,” according to Deputy Chief Scott Gray.

The suspect ordered the woman to walk ahead of the shopping cart while holding the child at knifepoint, Gray said. They left the store and moved down a driveway, where the two women had “some verbal back and forth” for several minutes before officers arrived.

After responding to a 911 call, police confronted the suspect outside the store and issued commands. She then began “swiping the knife at the child, cutting him across the face,” Gray said. At least one officer opened fire, and the woman 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 large laceration across the left side of his face and to a hand, Gray said. He is expected to survive.

It’s 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.

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.