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A Nebraska woman who was fatally shot by police earlier this week after stabbing a 3-year-old boy with a knife was previously arrested after she allegedly attacked her father with a knife and broke into a nearby Catholic church in a rampage.
Officers were called to a Walmart regarding reports of a woman armed with a "kitchen knife" with a young child just after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, according to the Omaha Police Department.
Deputies found 31-year-old Noemi Guzman in the store’s parking lot, standing next to a shopping cart with a 3-year-old boy inside while holding the weapon.
OMAHA POLICE SHOOT AND KILL WOMAN AFTER ALLEGED WALMART KIDNAPPING ATTEMPT
Noemi Guzman was fatally shot after allegedly attempting to kidnap a toddler and holding the child at knifepoint in a Walmart parking lot in Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, according to the Omaha Police Department. (Omaha Police Department)
Officers made multiple verbal commands for Guzman to drop the knife, but she refused and subsequently cut the child across his face, police said.
Two officers fired their weapons, fatally striking Guzman, according to authorities. The child was transported to a hospital and is expected to survive.
Authorities later revealed surveillance video showed Guzman shoplifting the weapon before approaching the child’s caretaker and forcing the pair outside at knifepoint.
Noemi Guzman was previously arrested after allegedly cutting her father with a knife and attempting to light his house on fire before barricading herself inside St. Frances Cabrini Church in Omaha, Nebraska in 2024, according to reports. (Omaha Police Department)
The incident is not Guzman’s first run-in with the law, according to reports.
In 2024, Guzman was arrested after she allegedly stabbed her father and attempted to start a fire inside his home, KETV reported.
Guzman reportedly doused her father in a flammable liquid and cut him with a knife before fleeing the home.
Noemi Guzman allegedly shoplifted a knife before attempting to kidnap a child at a Walmart in Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, according to the Omaha Police Department. (Omaha Police Department)
She then broke into nearby St. Frances Cabrini Church and began destroying items inside the rectory while armed with a knife, according to KETV.
A priest at the church reportedly called 911 and subsequently barricaded himself inside a room as Guzman continued her attack.
"Whatever room he was in, she busted through that room just as they were extracting [him] on that ladder truck," Lt. Jake Ritonya said at the time of the incident, KETV reported. "And then she was armed with a knife. So obviously it could have gone very bad."
Guzman then proceeded to barricade herself inside the building and allegedly sprayed bear spray at authorities as they attempted to make contact, the outlet reported.
"There was bear spray in the rectory that she sprayed at my officers when we tried to make contact," Ritonya said. "So we tried multiple avenues to contact her with drones and negotiators, and it just wasn't — she was in a mental health crisis."
She was subsequently taken into custody as she attempted to jump out of a window, but later released on her own recognizance while facing four felony charges, according to WOWT.
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Prior to her arrest two years ago, Guzman reportedly had been convicted in 2018 on a third-degree assault charge.
The Omaha Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Julia Bonavita is a U.S. Writer for Fox News Digital and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and send story tips to [email protected].
