Original Article Toddler Hostage Dies in Standoff Gunman, who fires on officers while holding the 17-month-old, is killed by police in South L.A. One lawman is shot in the shoulder. By David Pierson and Richard Winton, Times Staff Writers A 17-month-old girl was killed Sunday night in a shootout between police and a gun-wielding man who held her in his arms on a South Los Angeles street as he shot and wounded a SWAT officer in the shoulder, authorities said. The suspect, identified as Jose Raul Lemos, also died at the scene. "He was using the baby as a shield. Officers used as much restraint as humanly possible," said Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell of the Los Angeles Police Department. "We did our best. It was tremendous stress. The suspect dictated the outcome." "Our deepest sympathies go to the family," he said. ADVERTISEMENT The wounded officer, who was not identified, was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and was expected to recover, said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon. The shooting came more than two hours into a tense hostage situation that began about 3:50 p.m. with a call to police reporting that an armed man was standing near the intersection of 104th Street and Avalon Boulevard holding a gun in one hand and a child in the other. Lemos appeared "despondent and crazed," Vernon said. Police said Lemos was armed with one weapon and was randomly shooting into the street. Officers said they believed that he was on drugs or intoxicated. After Lemos fired shots in the direction of the first officer on the scene, the officer fired back but did not hit him, police said. Lemos then retreated into an apartment building, where police said he held the girl, who was a relative, as a hostage. Additional officers, including hostage negotiators, soon arrived at the scene, and the LAPD went on tactical alert. Negotiations with Lemos continued for nearly two hours as members of LAPD's SWAT team communicated with him by phone. The department also used psychologists and crisis specialists and gave Lemos numerous opportunities to surrender, McDonnell said. Just after 5 p.m., police exchanged gunfire with Lemos as they tried to give cover to a woman trapped in the standoff. She escaped safely. About 6:20 p.m., Lemos emerged from the building with the toddler. He was holding a weapon and again firing erratically, shooting an LAPD tactical officer in the shoulder. As other officers moved in to rescue their wounded colleague, police exchanged gunfire with Lemos. The girl also was hit. Police said it was unclear who fired the shot that killed the girl. Lemos' rampage may have been spurred by a custody battle, Vernon said, but declined to give details. His exact relationship to the 17-month-old girl was not released by police. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa visited the shooting scene Sunday night and also went to the hospital to meet the wounded officer and his family. LAPD regulations state that officers should fire only "when it reasonably appears necessary" to protect themselves or others from death or serious injury. LAPD officers have fired on hostage-takers in other instances, including a November standoff at the Mexican Consulate when an officer who had SWAT training fatally wounded Manuel Ortiz Gonzalez, 19, who was holding a pregnant woman hostage at gunpoint. The gun was later discovered to be a starter pistol. Gonzalez died at a hospital. His hostage was unhurt. Sunday's shooting shocked neighbors. Robert Cole, 69, said he left his apartment to see what was going on after he saw the street full of LAPD patrol cars and officers. "If there was one, there was 50," said Cole, who lives two doors down from the scene of the hostage situation. Cole said officers told him that he had to go back inside. From his window, he said he could not see what was taking place but still listened. About an hour after police told him he couldn't stay outside, Cole said he heard gunfire. "I said, 'Gee whiz, that was heavy gunfire,' " said Cole, who served five years in the Navy. "It was heavy caliber and it sounded like a 9-millimeter to me." Cole said he heard several shots and two different types of gunfire. Although he said it was not unusual to hear an occasional shot fired in the neighborhood late at night, the timing before dark and the number of shots surprised him. He said he had grown accustomed to fireworks still being set off in the wake of the Fourth of July holiday, but knew the difference immediately. "I can tell a gunshot from a firework," he said. "I can tell that any day." Times staff writers Cara Mia DiMassa and Megan Garvey contributed to this report http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0711LAshootout11-ON.html Toddler used as shield, gunman die in shootout Associated Press Jul. 11, 2005 06:55 AM LOS ANGELES - A toddler who was killed in a gunbattle between a suspect and police was being used by the man as a shield, officials said. The suspect 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 related to him, 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. "We showed a tremendous amount of restraint, but unfortunately the suspect's actions dictated this," he said. "It's a true tragedy." It was unclear who fired the shot that hit the girl, but officers were struggling with the thought that they killed a baby, he said. "The officers are taking it very hard," McDonnell 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.