OMAHA, Neb. (KABC) — A family is speaking out after police say a woman armed with a kitchen knife tried to kidnap their 3-year-old boy inside a Walmart in Nebraska, prompting officers to open fire and kill the suspect.
According to police, the woman, identified by police as 31-year-old Noemi Guzman, stole a large knife from the store on Tuesday and grabbed a shopping cart that had the child inside.
Guzman was shot by police after refusing to drop the knife and then cutting the boy, according to the Omaha Police Department.
The boy’s parents – Sara and Casey Hillman – spoke with ABC affiliate KETV following Tuesday’s attack. They said the situation could have ended far worse.
“It’s been rough,” the boy’s mother said. “A lot of the what ifs of what if it could’ve gone a different way?”
The boy’s father said he was heading to a job interview when he received a call from an officer from inside of the ambulance, telling him what had happened to his son, Cyler. He quickly went to the hospital.
“One of the officers involved, she told me what happened, and I just held the kid and started crying right there, I mean, that’s all I could do,” Casey said.
He credited officers’ actions with saving their son’s life.
“When I seen [the photos], it really set in that if they wouldn’t have reacted when they did, I wouldn’t, we wouldn’t still have him,” Casey said. “If she would have been any lower with the knife, we wouldn’t have him either.”
Sara and Casey told KETV they feel that Walmart should take some responsibility for how this incident unfolded.
“I almost feel like Walmart’s kind of to blame too, because they’re so big on theft, and someone could scratch their butt and not even be trying to do anything and be accused of stealing something, yet someone was able to not only steal a knife, but also hold two people at knife point hostage from the back of the store to the front of the store,” Sara said. “If they would have responded like they would with most of their situations, cops would have been there before they even got to the door.”
Cyler was taken to the hospital for cuts to his face and hand. His parents said they are relieved he is now home and doing OK, but it’s been a frightening few days.
“His big thing this morning was, ‘I don’t want to go outside. It’s scary.’ And I, I had to take a minute and go sit in the corner and pretty much ball my eyes out because that broke my heart,” Casey said. “He asked me if I’d carry him if he went outside. ‘Yeah, I ain’t gonna let nothing happen to you.'”
ABC News and KETV contributed to this report.
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