Prosecutors called her a danger to herself and others. Then she tried to kidnap a toddler.

U.S. newsProsecutors called her a danger to herself and others. Then she tried to kidnap a toddler.Noemi Guzman suffered from severe mental illness for years before she was killed by police. The criminal justice and medical systems could not help her.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Omaha Police Deputy Chief Scott Gray speaks to reporters after police fatally shot a woman who was accused of cutting a young child's face with a knife at a Walmart store in Omaha, Neb., on April 14.Nikos Frazier / APShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 19, 2026, 8:00 AM EDTBy Alicia Victoria Lozano and Selina GuevaraBy the time Noemi Guzman held a toddler at knifepoint in front of a Nebraska Walmart, the 31-year-old woman had struggled with mental illness for several years of her life.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Guzman had previously been to court for both allegedly trying to set her father’s house on fire and ransacking a priest’s home — on the same day. For those charges, she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. And years earlier, a judge ordered her to stay away from a neighbor she’d allegedly slashed with a knife.On Tuesday, Guzman sliced a 3-year-old’s face and hand with a kitchen knife stolen from a Walmart in Omaha, and after she refused to put the knife down, Omaha police said, officers shot and killed her.Add NBC News to GooglePhotos show woman who allegedly tried to kidnap toddler at Omaha Walmart02:09Guzman had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia. While people with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia are more likely to be victimized than to harm others, Guzman had been violent in the past. Local prosecutors deemed her a danger to herself and others. Despite objections from prosecutors, a county judge in 2024 ordered her released from jail following the incident involving her father and the priest.Those who encountered Guzman over the years have said her tumultuous...