Retail and Public-Space Security

Omaha police say they shot and killed a woman this week outside a Walmart in Omaha after she allegedly shoplifted a large knife inside the store, grabbed a 2- or 3‑year‑old boy from a shopping cart at knifepoint and began slashing him as officers arrived. Deputy Chief Scott Gray told reporters the suspect ordered the child’s caretaker to walk ahead of the cart while she followed with the boy at knifepoint, and that as officers issued commands the woman began swiping the knife at the child; at least one officer then fired, killing her at the scene. Police have released body‑camera stills showing the woman raising a knife over the boy as an officer aims a gun. The boy was taken to a hospital with a “rather large laceration” across the left side of his face and a cut to a hand and is expected to survive. Investigators say the woman and the adult caretaker did not know each other, and the shooting is being probed by Omaha police with assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol and the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office.