LOS ANGELES, Calif.–A gunman who fired shots at police officers while barricaded inside a house in Watts was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound this morning and investigators believe he also fatally shot the mother of his three young children before turning the gun on himself,
police said.
A man inside a pickup truck outside the house on Grape Street just north of Imperial Highway was also shot to death, police said, but they have not confirmed he was killed by the suspect.
Three children–boys aged 8 and 1, and a 3-year-old girl–safely got out of the house, Cmdr. Andy Smith Los Angeles Police Department said.
The standoff began about 2:30 a.m. when officers responded to a call of shots fired and found a man fatally shot in the front seat of a vehicle, Smith said.
Officers began conducting an investigation and encountered the gunman, who fired at them, Smith said. Officers fired back. The man then ran into the house, and started shooting at officers from inside, Smith said. No officer was hurt.
During the incident, the girl and the older boy met officers at the door and told them that their mother and father were inside, and had been shot, Smith said. SWAT officers entered the home around 5 a.m., removed the 1-year-old, and found the gunman dead and the woman gravely wounded, Smith said.
The woman died at a hospital, LAPD Officer Alex Martinez said. A gun was found inside the house, Smith said. Police were unsure if the man and woman were married, Smith said. A motive for the shooting was unclear.
