‘He wants to be tough’: Family of child injured in deadly incident at Omaha Walmart speaks out
By Beth Carlson
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OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — The parents of the 3-year-old injured in an attempted kidnapping are speaking out.
The incident happened on Tuesday morning at a Walmart near 72nd and Pine streets.
Noemi Guzman slashed the face and hands of Cyler Hillman before Omaha police shot and killed her.
“I walked into his room and when I got there, it was dang near there had to be seven to 10 cops still standing in there. And they were all tacked out and everything, and one of the officers was sitting there and told me what happened. And I was just standing there and held the kid and just started crying right there. That’s all that I could do. And they said he was just asking for dad and a bandaid and to go home the whole time,” Cyler’s father Casey Hillman said.
The 3-year-old was released from the hospital after undergoing surgery.
“His big thing this morning was I don’t want to go outside. It’s scary. And I had to take a minute and sit in the corner and pretty much bawl my eyes out cause that broke my heart. That’s never been that kid. He always wants to go outside, and then he asked me if I’d carry him outside. Yeah, I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Casey said.
Sara and Casey Hillman said it’s been hard for Cyler, his siblings, and themselves as they try to wrap their heads around what happened.
“He’s a goofball. He’s a fighter. He wants to be tough. Wants to ride sheep. Wants to ride bulls,” Sara and Casey said. “No, no fear really, no fear at all. Since birth he’s been a fighter. From medical history starting from a week-old preemie. Failure to thrive. Preterm lung failure. Lots of time in the hospital in first 90 days.”
Casey and Sara said they’re grateful to law enforcement but wonder how it was possible that no one in Walmart spotted Guzman ushering their son out of the store in the time between when she approached them and when police pulled the trigger.
There is a GoFundMe to help the family with the unexpected costs.
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