Another tragic shooting in America

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Police shot and killed a man involved in an hours-long standoff in a South Los Angeles neighborhood after he wounded an officer, police said. A baby he was holding died in the exchange of gunfire.

At 3:50 p.m. (6:50 p.m. EDT), police responded to a report of the man, Jose Raul Lemos, behaving aggressively and erratically -- he was initially barricaded in a house with a number of weapons.

According to police, Lemos fired at police several times over the next several hours before he ran out of the house -- first firing indiscriminately, then directly at officers, hitting one in the shoulder.

At that point, police opened fire on the man, believed to be in his mid-30s.

"We did everything we could to hold our fire. We showed a tremendous amount of restraint, but unfortunately the suspect's actions dictated this," said Los Angeles Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell. "It's a true tragedy."

Although the 19-month-old baby died of a gunshot wound, police did not immediately know if the bullet came from police or the man holding her.

"The officers are taking it very hard," McDonnell said. "Anytime you have a baby killed, it takes its toll."

The wounded officer is in stable condition, police said.

Do you think the situation should have been handled differently? Do you think the same end result would have happen if the toddler was white instead of hispanic? I think LAPD should have been more patient, i mean there was a baby involved, i mean they could have waited for the snipers to arrive. There job at that moment should have been to secure the child not disable the gunmen

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In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is the king
- Nas

clearly he had every intention of peacefully surrendering...

(*)(*)(*)(*) those evil cops.

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I'll get nicer when you get smarter.

If it was that long then apparently snipers were already there. They had to prevent him from entering a vehicle and he had already shot one cop...it's a terrible tragedy, but they did the best they could.

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i hope the cop did everything by the book, but how was the guy able to get 300 shots off, i mean the most a automatic could hold was 130 round more or less?

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In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is the king
- Nas

the standoff lasted for HOURS...that's plenty of time to get off 300 rounds.

the cops showed incredible restraint.


And he was heavily armed.

I feel sorry for the toddler, don't get me wrong. But I also feel like crap for the officer who shot him and inadvertently killed the toddler. That dude will be in therapy a long, long time to come to grips with that and may lose his career over it...and that's a shame because i am certain he did the best he could.

It's easy to be a critic on the sidelines...it's much much harder to face the tremendous pressure these guys and gals face daily in an very dangerous city where more law enforcement officers and shot and killed yearly than any other city in the country. No matter what they do, they can be sure that they will get plenty of criticism. If they make the right decision, it will, of course, be ignored. If they make the wrong decision, they will be publicly crucified.

Fun, fun, and more fun.

One of my best friends is a judge and his son is currently testing to work for LAPD and I think to myself that I am glad that there are still people out there who are both brave enough, and foolish enough, to do that job.

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I'll get nicer when you get smarter.

(after all, the dude was not going anywhere), the child's death falls squarely on the perp. Anyone who would use his own child as a shield is one sick puppy.

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I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.

honestly, the dad should be charged with murder and killed in the same fashion.

but, for some on this forum, if he was a gun nut or a religious freak then he'd be a hero....

It's time to put up or shut up, Kaladrew. Post the names and the quotes which prove that this man would be a hero to anyone on this forum.

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"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan

I heard this AM that is was, in fact, a cop's bullet. (*)(*)(*)(*). As soon as I heard that, I thought that I hope that they DON'T ballistically match the bullet to the individual cop's gun. Sort of like how they give one man in a firing squad blanks.

What do you think? Find the one cop who did it, or let the team think that they may or may not have done it?

This story seem to vary a little, could someone please give me a clear understanding what happen, how was the guy able to get 300 shoots of without puting down the child or how long was the seige. What is the correct police procudure in this case?

This guy is obiviously sick and twisted

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In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is the king
- Nas