By ANDREW DALTON, Associated Press Writer 27 minutes ago



LOS ANGELES - A toddler was shot and killed when her father used her as a shield in a gunbattle with police following an hours-long standoff, officials said. The man also died and an officer was wounded


The man killed Sunday night after an hours-long standoff was identified as Jose Raul Lemos, and the girl, about 17 months old, was his daughter, police said. The officer, who was not immediately identified, was shot in the shoulder and was expected to recover.
"He was using the baby as a shield," Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell said.

"We showed a tremendous amount of restraint, but unfortunately the suspect's actions dictated this," he said. "It's a true tragedy."

The child's mother, Lorena Lopez, said she pleaded with officers to hold their fire.

"He had problems with depression, his business was not doing well," Lopez told KNBC-TV. "I told them that he needed help, he needs a psychologist, but please don't shoot. They didn't understand, and the police fired, like, 300 shots."

It was unclear who fired the shot that hit the girl, but officers were struggling with the thought that they killed a baby, McDonnell said.

"The officers are taking it very hard," he said. "Anytime you have a baby killed, it takes its toll."

The standoff began at around 3:50 p.m. when officers responded to an area in South Los Angeles west of Watts after residents reported an armed man standing near an intersection with a toddler and behaving erratically and aggressively.

There were three exchanges of gunfire between police and Lemos, who was about 35, McDonnell told reporters. In the final exchange, at around 6:20 p.m., Lemos held the girl as he shot.

"We did everything we could to hold our fire," McDonnell said.

At one point, Lemos retreated into an apartment building, where police said he held the girl hostage.

Police called in a SWAT team and tried to speak with the man; when they at one point attempted to help a neighbor escape the area, he fired at them and they fired back, McDonnell said.

Under police regulations, officers may only fire "when it reasonably appears necessary" to protect themselves or others from death or serious injury.

The man had a 9 mm handgun and a shotgun and was intoxicated on drugs and alcohol, police said.

THIS WORLD IS CRAZY

 

This is messed up. What about the guy who killed his two kids and his wife (ex-wife?) with a hammer??

 

didnt hear about that one

 

that is a true tragedy. if only a sniper could have picked this psycho off before he used his own daughter to keep him from getting shot.

 

sniper was my first thought.....what the hell were they thinking? A hostage situation for that long and they couldnt get ONE clear shot? Hard to believe...I feel bad for the mother.

 

with the previous two posts...

They obviously didn't try hard enough to bring him down properly. A sniper would have been the perfect solution.

Get a sniper ready...stop firing and take cover if he keeps firing. then when he tries to run or something take him out...

 

it funny how these are all valid ideas, yet it still was a tragedy and ended like it did

 

But you also have to think, whether you have training or not, if someone is shooting at you and you have a gun, what would you do.

 

yeah I see what your saying, but there is also a baby in front of you, personally I wouldnt shoot knowing that a child can be killed.

 

Also a very valid statement, but in my mind, I don't think Id shoot in the direction of an innocent child...