A man was shot dead after holding a gun to a baby’s head during a 16-hour standoff outside a mobile home, police say. The suspect barricaded himself in the property following a car chase involving speeds of up to 130mph
SWAT and armed police amassed outside as the man threatened to harm the one-year-old, who is uninjured.
The disturbing scene unfolded in Lancaster, a city of 173,516 in California, on Wednesday.
At around 9pm, officers moved into the home where the man then put his gun up to his baby’s mouth, authorities said.
Officers then opened fire on the man, who was later pronounced dead.
California Highway Patrol officer Patrick Kimball said they began chasing the suspect at around 11.45pm on Tuesday.
During the chase, he racked up speeds reaching more than 130mph while jetting through multiple freeways and surface streets in the Palmdale and Lancaster areas, Patrol Sergeant Alejandro Rubio said.
In a horror twist during the chase, the suspect called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and said he had a gun and a child in the vehicle.
He urged pursuing officers to call off the pursuit or he would start firing, with the man then firing his weapon at around 1am near 17th Avenue East and Avenue Q.
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The suspect eventually stopped outside the Lido Estates mobile home park and exited the SUV while holding a gun to the infant’s head, police said.
He then backed slowly into a mobile home in the 2500 block of East Avenue I, beginning the standoff.
The barricade lasted for 16 hours throughout Wednesday night, with police handing over to a SWAT team.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department public information officer M. McClendon told City News Service no deputies were injured “and the infant was recovered fine and uninjured”.
