KANSAS CITY -- Were it not for two Good Samaritans who risked their lives, a Kansas City mother and her baby may have not survived an attack in a Walmart parking lot. And most likely, neither would they.
It happened in Shawnee, Kansas, over the weekend, police told CNN.
Two men attacked the 39-year-old mother as she was putting her baby in a car seat. They struck her in the back of her head, said Shawnee police Maj. Dan Tennis.
Hearing the mother's screams, the Good Samaritans rushed to help.
One was shot -- multiple times -- when one of the attackers, later identified as John W. Simmons III, pulled out a gun.
The second rescuer had a gun of his own and he fired back, killing Simmons, police said.
The baby wasn't hurt.
Police later caught the second suspect, 27-year-old Arthur Fred Wyatt III.
On Tuesday, Wyatt was charged with attempted first-degree murder charges, aggravated kidnapping and attempted aggravated robbery.
The wounded Good Samaritan is a 33-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, man. He remains hospitalized.
The mother has been released from hospital and reunited with her baby.
The second Good Samaritan, a 36-year-old De Soto, Kansas, man, was interviewed by police and released. He won't face charges.
The mother didn't know the suspects.
