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

By the clip Noemi Guzman held a toddler astatine knifepoint successful beforehand of a Nebraska Walmart, the 31-year-old female had struggled pinch intelligence unwellness for respective years of her life.

Guzman had antecedently been to tribunal for some allegedly trying to group her father’s location connected occurrence and ransacking a priest’s location — connected the aforesaid day. For those charges, she pleaded not blameworthy by logic of insanity. And years earlier, a judge ordered her to enactment distant from a neighbour she’d allegedly slashed pinch a knife.

On Tuesday, Guzman sliced a 3-year-old’s look and manus pinch a room weapon stolen from a Walmart successful Omaha, and aft she refused to put the weapon down, Omaha constabulary said, officers changeable and killed her.

Guzman had antecedently been diagnosed pinch schizophrenia. While group pinch terrible intelligence illnesses for illustration schizophrenia are more apt to beryllium victimized than to harm others, Guzman had been convulsive successful the past. Local prosecutors deemed her a threat to herself and others. Despite objections from prosecutors, a region judge successful 2024 ordered her released from jailhouse pursuing the incident involving her begetter and the priest.

Those who encountered Guzman complete the years person said her tumultuous history and nationalist struggles exemplify the reality of a justness strategy that struggles to negociate intelligence wellness crises.

“One of the elephants successful the room successful the criminal justness strategy is intelligence health, and really do we woody pinch it,” Douglas County nationalist defender Thomas Riley told Beritaja. “Treatment for intelligence unwellness costs money, and, you know, authorities entities are very, very tight with, particularly these days, really money is being spent.”

Warnings heap up

In 2018, a neighbour said she was lured to Guzman’s backyard successful Omaha, wherever Guzman swiped astatine the neighbor’s cervix pinch a knife, according to the woman’s affidavit. In 2024, Guzman was charged pinch 4 felonies aft she slashed her father’s precocious assemblage and doused him pinch flammable liquids, according to a constabulary report. She tore isolated the house, threatened to termination him and past started a fire, according to the constabulary report. She past near the location and collapsed into a adjacent church, threatening the leader and ransacking valuable paintings and furnishings inside, the study said. She was recovered not responsible by logic of insanity and remanded to intelligence wellness treatment.

Following the March 2024 incident, Guzman was ordered to participate successful an outpatient programme overseen by a Douglas County psychiatrist, who would way her medicine and study immoderate noncompliance to the courts. Her expert was besides instructed to taxable a study 30 days earlier Guzman’s adjacent hearing, which had been scheduled for this June.

Brenda Beadle, the main lawman region attorney, said prosecutors successful her agency had urged the tribunal not to merchandise Guzman during her first enslaved hearing. They worried she posed a threat to the nationalist and to herself and based on that enslaved should beryllium group high. But a region judge released Guzman connected her ain recognizance, a week later amending the conditions of her merchandise to see a 24/7 GPS monitor.

“The charges were conscionable truthful serious,” Beadle said, adding that Guzman faced 4 felonies. “It was very scary.”

Cases for illustration Guzman’s typically impact a intelligence wellness information by a squad of doctors to find the defendant’s authorities of mind astatine the clip of the incident, the charismatic and nationalist defender some said.

If they are deemed mentally unwell, the tribunal will delegate the slightest restrictive mounting for treatment, per Nebraska law. In Guzman’s case, her last information was performed successful 2025, a twelvemonth aft she was first charged.

Police connected the segment of a shooting astatine a Walmart successful Omaha, Neb., connected April 14.WOWT

“By the clip our expert goes to look astatine her, she’s done what she was expected to beryllium doing while she’s successful the community,” Beadle said. “So what logic would they person to delegate her inpatient if she’s already been retired for a year?”

Guzman was conscionable 1 of the galore group pinch intelligence wellness conditions who rhythm successful and retired of the criminal justness system. Riley estimates that of the estimated 1,100 pretrial detainees successful Douglas County jails, betwixt 25% and 35% person intelligence wellness disorders, a 4th of which are severe. There is conscionable 1 nationalist intelligence wellness halfway successful the region, he added.

In fact, half of each Nebraska residents — about 1 cardinal group — unrecorded successful a organization without intelligence wellness professionals, according to the National Alliance connected Mental Health, an independent organization.

“The accusation emerging about the child’s attacker is disturbing,” Gov. Jim Pillen said successful a connection earlier this week. “Her anterior acts of unit — including trying to group her begetter connected occurrence and breaking into a pastor’s location pinch a weapon and trashing it while he barricaded himself successful a bedroom, for which she was recovered not responsible owed to insanity — raise sedate questions arsenic to why she was free and connected the street.”

A family struggles for help

Court records making love backmost astatine slightest to 2013 exemplify a difficult life for Guzman and those closest to her. She had been arrested for a number of incidents, including insignificant supplier and postulation violations.

Guzman pleaded nary title to a felony battle complaint successful the 2018 altercation pinch her neighbour successful her backyard. She did not spell to jailhouse but was fixed 2 years of probation and ordered to enactment distant from the neighbor.

After Guzman’s 2024 confrontation pinch her family, her stepmother said she feared for her life and did not want her stepdaughter to beryllium released into her aliases her husband’s care, according to an affidavit. A protective bid was issued for Guzman’s stepmother, and Guzman was ordered to enactment distant from her family’s home.

Guzman collapsed into a Catholic religion equipped pinch a weapon connected the aforesaid time successful March 2024, according to tribunal records, and told a leader that she would do “terrible things.”

“It is not my intent to wounded you,” she allegedly told the leader earlier systematically tearing things disconnected the walls and piling furnishings successful respective rooms. The leader hid upstairs during the rampage, according to tribunal records.

Following the onslaught connected him and his wife, Guzman’s begetter appealed to the region committee of intelligence wellness to intervene successful his daughter’s care, according to section news reports from 2024. In an interview pinch KETV, he said that his girl desperately needed thief but that the committee did not respond to his petition.

When reached by phone, Guzman’s begetter declined to comment.

The Douglas County Board of Mental Health said it is prohibited by privateness laws to corroborate if the petition was received aliases reviewed.

Hours earlier she was killed this week, Guzman had called 911 to study that she was the unfortunate of a home unit assault. An Omaha Police Department spokesperson said officers took her to a section infirmary to dainty her alleged injuries, but Guzman asked to time off the aesculapian installation earlier being seen by a doctor. Officers fto her go, because they saw nary logic to make her stay, according to the spokesperson, who added location has not been an apprehension related to the home case.

Later that morning, astatine about 9:13 a.m., constabulary received reports of an equipped female wrong Walmart. Surveillance video showed her approaching a 3-year-old boy and his caretaker while wielding a ample weapon she had taken from the store. With the weapon successful hand, Guzman forced the child’s caretaker to locomotion up of a shopping cart successful which the small boy was seated, constabulary said.

Guzman past instructed them to exit the shop and locomotion into the parking lot. Officers arrived soon aft and ordered her to driblet the weapon aggregate times. Guzman refused and alternatively slashed the boy’s face, Omaha constabulary said successful a statement.

Officers opened occurrence and Guzman died astatine the scene. The boy was taken to a section infirmary pinch non-life-threatening injuries connected his look and hand.

Because she was killed by police, the incident will beryllium reviewed by a expansive jury, officials said. The officers progressive successful her shooting are connected administrative lead pending further investigation.

Following this week’s attack, Pillen said he has ordered his agency to “identify weaknesses” successful the state’s criminal, detention and intelligence wellness systems.

“This perpetrator was intelligibly vulnerable and known to beryllium so,” he said successful a statement, adding that “she should not person been free to harm others.”