Dec 23, 2008 10:06 pm US/Pacific
Boy Rescued, Hostage Drama Ends In Death
Officials believe the gunman is the same man wanted for the murder of his girlfriend four years ago in Hawthorne.
EL MONTE, Calif. (AP) ―
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A gunman held a 6-year-old boy hostage at this El Monte restaurant.
CBS
A camouflaged gunman was killed and his 6-year-old hostage was shot in the leg during a two-hour standoff with police Tuesday that began when the man snatched the child off a sidewalk and barricaded himself in a Chinese restaurant east of Los Angeles.
The man was declared dead at the restaurant in El Monte soon after he exchanged gunfire with police, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Liam Gallagher.
He would not say who shot the boy.
The gunman, wearing a camouflage jacket and blue jeans, grabbed the boy and took him into a back room of a Chinese restaurant where he held him hostage with a handgun, said El Monte police Detective Ralph Batres.
Gallagher said authorities believe the gunman was the father of the boy and was wanted by the FBI for the murder of his girlfriend four years ago in Hawthorne.
Gallagher said they have not confirmed the gunman is the murder suspect.
The boy's name has not been released.
Authorities negotiated with the man for about two hours before a flash-bang grenade exploded and gunshots were fired inside the building.
Shortly afterward, authorities took the boy out on a stretcher and put him in an ambulance.
The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh and was in critical but stable condition at a nearby trauma center, said county fire dispatcher Brendon Peart.
Batres said the standoff began after a police officer saw the gunman grab the boy and head into the restaurant.
The man ignored the officer's orders to stop and barricaded himself inside a back room, Batres said.
Police closed nearby streets and shoppers were evacuated from neighboring stores as dozens of police officers and other emergency crews surrounded the restaurant.
One employee of a nearby Mexican restaurant said the gunman had the boy in a headlock and held a gun to his head as he sought a place to hold the hostage.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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