Toddler dies in father's gun battle

A toddler was shot and killed when her father used her as a shield in a Los Angeles gun battle with police following an hours-long standoff.

The man, who also died, was identified as Jose Raul Lemos. The girl, about 17 months old, was his daughter. A police officer was shot in the shoulder and was expected to recover.

“He was using the baby as a shield,” assistant police chief Jim McDonnell said. “We showed a tremendous amount of restraint, but unfortunately the suspect’s actions dictated this. It is a true tragedy.”

The child’s mother, Lorena Lopez, said she pleaded with officers to hold their fire.

“He had problems with depression, his business was not doing well,” she said. “I told them that he needed help. They didn’t understand, and the police fired, like, 300 shots.”

It was unclear who fired the shot that hit the girl, but officers were struggling with the thought that they killed a baby, Mr McDonnell said.

“The officers are taking it very hard,” he said. ”Anytime you have a baby killed, it takes its toll.”

The standoff began 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, 35, who held the girl as he shot. 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 neighbour escape the area, he fired at them and they fired back, Mr 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 9mm handgun and a shotgun and was intoxicated on drugs and alcohol, police said.