Custody battle father kills son in jogging ambush

A 14-year-old boy jogging with his school cross country team has been shot and killed in an ambush by his father.

The gunman stepped out from behind a parked van in San Diego on Thursday to fire the first of several shots at the boy, then reloaded his pistol and fired again as pedestrians and the running team fled.

No-one else was injured, but the gunman, identified by police as the boy's father, fled by car into a home about a mile away where he spent nearly 10 hours in on-and-off negotiations with police.

The 53-year-old man, whose name has not been released, shot himself once in the head and has been pronounced dead, said Sgt. Richard Nemetz of the San Diego Police Department.

Witnesses and neighbours identified the 14-year-old victim as Evan Nash.

About a dozen members of the Point Loma High School cross-country team were jogging about in the quiet community of Ocean Park when the shooting occurred, police said.

Police were investigating the domestic circumstances of the victim's father.

There were reports the victim's parents had separated and were dealing with "custody issues," police spokesman Dave Cohen said.