2 Dead in Police Standoff: California Shoot Out Ends as Gunman Kills Himself (VIDEO)
Two people are dead after being killed in a police standoff in Los Angeles in the early hours of Friday morning. Another woman is also in critical condition in the hospital, after a domestic violence dispute ended in a bloody shoot out.
A gunman is alleged to have killed a man and opened fire on responding police officers, according to initial reports from authorities.
The gunman was surrounded by police in a home with three children inside, but after a tense stand off it is reported that the man shot himself dead, according to The Associated Press.
In addition to the two deaths, a woman - thought to be the gunman's wife and mother to the three children caught up in the incident - was also seriously wounded. She has been rushed to hospital, and although specific details have not been released at this time, she is said to be in a "grave condition," according to AP.
The incident took place around 3 a.m. local time when a domestic dispute was reported.
The gunman is alleged to have fatally shot a man in a truck who was outside the house at the time. Although the man was still alive after being shot, he died from his wounds later that morning.
Police soon arrived on the scene, and the gunman is said to have opened fire at officers outside the house, but did not manage to hit any of them.
As he became surrounded the man retreated into his home, where he continued to fire out bullets at officers, according to officials.
The stand off lasted about two hours, and ended when the man shot himself dead in the house.
Deputy Chief Robert Green told KABC-TV that after the man shot himself, two of the three children, aged 8 and 3 years old, came out of the house, saying that their mom and dad were dead inside.
The police SWAT team then entered and found the man dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The woman was at first thought to be dead, but authorities confirmed that she was rushed to hospital in a grave condition.
Police took away all three children from the crime scene and they are being attended to on Friday.
Here is a video new report of the deadly incident: