In the early hours of Friday morning, a gunman opened fire on police officers in the Watts district of south Los Angeles before barricading himself in his house, shooting his wife and then killing himself, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, and reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Before taking his own life, he also fatally wounded a man in a truck outside the house. The standoff began at about 3 a.m. Friday and lasted for about two hours, according to police.
The gunman, who has yet to be identified, was found around 5 a.m. when L.A. SWAT entered the home. They also found the man's wife critically injured. She was first believed to be killed, but was taken to the hospital and is in grave condition. The man was dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Three children, ages 1, 3 and 8, were in the home during the incident and are in police custody until family members are located, the LAPD spokesman Bruce Borihanh said.
During the standoff, the gunman released two children who told officers that "mom and dad" were dead in the home. A 1-year-old boy was retrieved later.
"They'll be in our custody until we identify relatives," Deputy Chief Robert Green told KABC-TV.
The names of the victims have yet to be released, as of Friday afternoon. No officers were hurt.
Watts is a mostly residential area and has earned a reputation as a violence-prone and impoverished areas. There has been attempts to improve the neighborhoods in recent years, with extra focus to add cultural and artistic centers within the area.
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