tinman44
02-08-08, 08:42
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/02/08/MNGHUU9HG.DTL
(02-08) 04:00 PST Los Angeles - --
In a tense overnight standoff, a man shot and killed a SWAT officer Thursday and seriously wounded another after calling 911 to report that he had killed three family members at a San Fernando Valley home, authorities said.
A police sniper killed the suspect about 7:30 a.m. Thursday as he was trying to flee out a door, still firing his weapon, authorities said.
A woman who apparently had been hiding inside the home had come out shortly after 5 a.m. as tear gas was fired into it, police said.
After the canisters were fired, "a woman suddenly appeared from the rear of the residence," said Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michel Moore. "She was rescued. Our understanding is, she was there during the earlier carnage of the people being shot and killed."
Officers found three men - two that appeared dead and a third that appeared to be alive. The third man was taken out of the house, but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police did not identify the three men, but Moore said they might have been related to one another or to the family that lived in the house.
Randal Simmons, 51, was the first SWAT officer killed in the line of duty in the unit's 41-year history, officials said.
"This is a very horrible tragedy, and our hearts go out to all the members of the LAPD who also are grieving at this time," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who said he visited with Simmons' family.
The incident began with the first 911 call about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Over several hours, the same man made a series of additional calls to 911, police said. Police said he told them that three people were dead at the home and that two others were still alive inside.
A dispatcher told police that moans could be heard in the background.
The decision to enter the home came more than three hours after that first call, when officers determined there might still be people in distress inside, said Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
At that point, McDonnell said, SWAT members had been at the scene about 15 minutes. The decision to go in immediately, instead of taking a more patient approach, was made out of concern that people were either being killed or were about to be killed inside, he said.
"This was one where you have to go in right away," he said. "If you think people are being executed, you don't wait."
SWAT officers broke through the front door shortly before 12:30 a.m. Thursday and exchanged fire with the suspect.
Simmons, a veteran of the unit, was mortally wounded in the head as the officers broke through the door, police said. Sources said a round entered Simmons' neck, lodging in his brain stem. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he died just after 1 a.m., officials said.
Simmons, a married father of a teenage son and daughter, spent his off-hours mentoring youth in a poverty- and violence-stricken area of Los Angeles.
"He was always there to support, mentor and help," said LAPD Capt. James Craig, a close friend and police academy classmate. "He was a kind person."
Officer James Veenstra, 51, was wounded in the exchange of gunfire and was taken to the same hospital. The veteran officer, married to a police captain, is expected to survive.
He sustained a gunshot wound to the left side of his lower jaw and underwent a three-hour surgery that doctors said would be the first of many. But Veenstra's prognosis was "very good," said Gabriel Aslanian, one of the surgeons who operated on him.
I assume this was not the first SWAT officer killed in the line of duty ever, just the first in LAPD? Was there a full moon yesterday that I wasn't aware of? No offense or joking intended it just seams like there were alot of shootings yesterday.
(02-08) 04:00 PST Los Angeles - --
In a tense overnight standoff, a man shot and killed a SWAT officer Thursday and seriously wounded another after calling 911 to report that he had killed three family members at a San Fernando Valley home, authorities said.
A police sniper killed the suspect about 7:30 a.m. Thursday as he was trying to flee out a door, still firing his weapon, authorities said.
A woman who apparently had been hiding inside the home had come out shortly after 5 a.m. as tear gas was fired into it, police said.
After the canisters were fired, "a woman suddenly appeared from the rear of the residence," said Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michel Moore. "She was rescued. Our understanding is, she was there during the earlier carnage of the people being shot and killed."
Officers found three men - two that appeared dead and a third that appeared to be alive. The third man was taken out of the house, but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police did not identify the three men, but Moore said they might have been related to one another or to the family that lived in the house.
Randal Simmons, 51, was the first SWAT officer killed in the line of duty in the unit's 41-year history, officials said.
"This is a very horrible tragedy, and our hearts go out to all the members of the LAPD who also are grieving at this time," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who said he visited with Simmons' family.
The incident began with the first 911 call about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Over several hours, the same man made a series of additional calls to 911, police said. Police said he told them that three people were dead at the home and that two others were still alive inside.
A dispatcher told police that moans could be heard in the background.
The decision to enter the home came more than three hours after that first call, when officers determined there might still be people in distress inside, said Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
At that point, McDonnell said, SWAT members had been at the scene about 15 minutes. The decision to go in immediately, instead of taking a more patient approach, was made out of concern that people were either being killed or were about to be killed inside, he said.
"This was one where you have to go in right away," he said. "If you think people are being executed, you don't wait."
SWAT officers broke through the front door shortly before 12:30 a.m. Thursday and exchanged fire with the suspect.
Simmons, a veteran of the unit, was mortally wounded in the head as the officers broke through the door, police said. Sources said a round entered Simmons' neck, lodging in his brain stem. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he died just after 1 a.m., officials said.
Simmons, a married father of a teenage son and daughter, spent his off-hours mentoring youth in a poverty- and violence-stricken area of Los Angeles.
"He was always there to support, mentor and help," said LAPD Capt. James Craig, a close friend and police academy classmate. "He was a kind person."
Officer James Veenstra, 51, was wounded in the exchange of gunfire and was taken to the same hospital. The veteran officer, married to a police captain, is expected to survive.
He sustained a gunshot wound to the left side of his lower jaw and underwent a three-hour surgery that doctors said would be the first of many. But Veenstra's prognosis was "very good," said Gabriel Aslanian, one of the surgeons who operated on him.
I assume this was not the first SWAT officer killed in the line of duty ever, just the first in LAPD? Was there a full moon yesterday that I wasn't aware of? No offense or joking intended it just seams like there were alot of shootings yesterday.