A man armed with a machete tried to take two children from their mother at a Walmart in Kenner Friday afternoon.
According to the Kenner Police Department, Billy Yoe Budier-Herrera walked into the store around 2 p.m. carrying a bag and a machete and approached a mother and her 2-year-old child.
According to police, Budier-Herrera told the woman that if she didn’t listen to him she would die. He then blocked her path and placed his hands on the handle of his machete before trying to take the child. Police say the child’s mother pulled them back and ran behind the deli counter as store employees intervened.
Budier-Herrera then ran into the meat and poultry section, where he pulled a machete from his waistband and started swinging at employees.
Police say he then tried to kidnap another child who was strapped into the child seat of a grocery cart. While trying to undo the seat strap, Budier-Herrera was tackled by employees and a Kenner Police Officer who was working an off-duty detail inside the store.
Police say Budier-Herrera had a 10-inch machete, a container of pepper spray and a makeshift shiv made out of razorblades and duct tape.
Budier-Herrera was arrested for two counts of second degree kidnapping of a child, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of illegal carrying of weapons and disturbing the peace. He is also being held with an immigration detainer.