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Updated at 6 p.m. ET: INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The man believed to be behind a shooting rampage and arson in Inglewood that left a father and his 4-year-old son dead and three other family members wounded was in the process of being evicted from his home, said a relative of one of the victims.
Judy Castellanos, who has a daughter related to one of the victims, said the gunman, who was not identified, had not paid his rent and police had been called several times in the past for disturbances.
He had been renting a unit in the back of a duplex from the family he targeted in the 4900 block of 99th Street (map) about 4 a.m., Castellanos said.
A 30-year-old father died shielding his children from a fusillade of 10 bullets fired into their Inglewood home by the gunman who set the back part of the duplex on fire, police said.
The father's 4-year-old son suffered a bullet wound to the head and died in surgery. The man's 28-year-old wife was hit in the legs. She was in critical but stable condition at a hospital.
Two other children also suffered gunshot wounds and were also in critical but stable condition, police said.
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"The fire had been started before the shooting, and then the suspect came into the house with a painter's mask on,'' said Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta. "The father was in a position of shielding the children as officers came into the scene."
Police evacuated homes and urged others to remain inside behind locked doors while they searched for the gunman who was believed to be armed and may have hid in a home nearby, police said.
He was described as African American, 5-foot-6, and about 55 years-old. He was wearing a dark baseball cap, police said.
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Firefighters, responding to the blaze, were forced to wait because of the possibility that the gunman was in hiding and because of fears that live wires from downed power lines could harm firefighters attempting to douse the blaze, police said.
Firefighters also witnessed an act of heroism on the part of a wounded mother seen by firefighters carrying her 4-year-old son out of the house, Fronterotta said.
"This extraordinary rescue attempt by the mother occurred in spite of the fact that she had gunshot wounds to both legs," Fronterotta said in a press release.
The other victims included a 6-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, Fronterotta said. The only one in the house not injured was an 8-year-old boy, he said.
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Im not trying to stereotype anyone, but we need to halt all immigration to this country until we get a common national moral and ethical direction in the US. Don't know the whole story here, but we keep adding to the melting pot from all corners of the world. It is going to continue to get worse until we get the current residents to learn how to "get along".
so you think only people who haven't been here a while are the problem? i don't get your reasoning, it's irrational.
we don't need to close our borders, that is not the problem, and it is definitely not the solution to anything. what we need is a time out from the hate. it's like people have nothing better to do with their time now than hate everyone who isn't exactly like them.
to that end, what we need is more outside influence, not less.
people don't remember a time when we could disagreed civilly. that is what is wrong, and i see it more among people who have been here for a long time than people who haven't. people who have been here a short time appreciate the freedom and socioeconomic mobility to be had in the US. most of them are happy to be here. it's the people who have been here for generations who take it for granted that are the problem.
imo, all US school students should be required to spend 3 months abroad to learn what the rest of the world is like, for good and bad, before they can graduate high school. that might make people appreciate what they have here more.
dont care how you paint it, the answers to all these problems are in d.c., stop whining and take back d.c.
take back DC from what? other americans? you just sound stupid.
crap like this happens because we tolerate it, The lawyers will have guaranted income for months from the trail I say # 1 Is he guilty, #2 if so a quick bullet to the brain. #3. confiscation of anythng that belongs to him.
i second that!
Death penalties will not stop this kind of violence. Pandora's firearm box was opened a long long time ago in this country, and in the rest of the world, for that matter. Law-abiding urban city dwellers need to recieve instruction on the proper use of concealable handguns and learn how to use them effectively if needed when scum like this attacks. Period.
Get rid of druggies, and get rid of most crime.
And don't forget what else you get rid of; famous artists, theologists, writers, etc...... Yeah, great idea.
no chris, AT has a point.
most cops will tell you that the majority of our crime is drug-related. maybe not this crime, but in general, that is what is fueling most of our crime.
and there are plenty of artists, theologians, writers, etc., who don't use drugs.
There are, from time to time, brutal acts that justify putting a convicted perp to death. This certainly is one. I would like to hear arguments against killing this person. I doubt any of them will pass the LMAO test.
Hopefully someone who reads this story learns a lesson from this families unfortunate and disgusting demise!!! IF YOUR SO WEAK MINDED THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE GUNS TO PROTECT YOU FAMILY YOU ARE JUST A VICTIM IN WAITING!!! If someone starts a shootin at my house they're gonna be on the end of more firepower than the county sheriff has! Learn something from this folks IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONES AT HOME AND OUTSIDE OF THE HOME! ARM UP AND REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM! I KNOW I WON'T BE!
my brother was "armed up" like a militia. and he is now in jail for trying to get someone killed. life means little to him.
i have no guns. i am not against guns, i just don't like them. i grew up in a house with them, i learned to shoot, i don't care to do it.
don't tell me how to protect myself. i leave people alone, and i treat people with respect. i have traveled all alone all over the nation, and no one has bothered me, because i don't go looking for controversy, and i know how to handle it with my words and actions when it comes looking for me.
maybe you need gunpowder to protect you, i have civility. and if someone wants to do you in bad enough, they will do it, no matter what you have.
Words and actions mean nothing to someone who has gone full tilt bozo like the man who set fire to the duplex and then fired on the family inside. Only a good firearm will stop such a person.
Anybody else see the underlying message in this story? Father (without gun) Brave, decent, upstanding.
Shooter (with gun) Idiot, coward, Psycho.
No offense to you gun owners, you have your right. I don't want to take your precious guns away. Truth is, those of us without guns have our rights, too. The right to life. It's becoming more and more clear than guns do in fact kill people with more frequency and precision than any other weapon one can get on the street. Don't give me that "cars kill more people than guns" argument, because that's just lame. Yeah, and I'd rather die a dignified death than have to live and thank an NRA handbook thumping genius who believes everyone should have a gun. Screw that.
So you think taking away of people guns will solve the problem? Put a sign in your window that says I DONT OWN A GUN, PEACE, LOVE . See how the fairytail ends.
Well said. Is that your argument? Put a sign in my window? Typical answer from a typical gung ho happy gun toter. Here's YOUR sign; Nut bag.
Black guy, a killer, no impossible! Where are the Black Panthers, all three of them, when you need them! The drive to Cali from Philly isn't that far! At least one of them should have a ride, with-all those Obama bucks and all! And they still have time to get back to Philly, by election day, to intimidate, Philly voters!
What kind of scumbag shoots children? I hope they catch the person responsible, and lock him up for the rest of his miserable, pitiful, life. NO parole. Condolences to the family, friends, and anyone else caught up in this awful crime.
And not even this would make me support the death penalty. Saving money is no excuse to kill people, even when they deserve it. It's called being civilized. Not to mention the chance that someone innocent could be sentenced to die. It's bad mojo, period.
GL, did it ever occur to you, a Felon really should not have a gun! Especially, if he's trying to kill a family with it!
But I have a better argument, than cars, Doctors kill, way more people then guns. By a average of about 4 deaths to 1! With guns on the losing end!
Weak sauce. Try again.
A more noble death would of been to fight back and maybe save your family. I do not understand how letting evil people come into your home and not fight back is noble. For head of household be you man or women learn how to deafened you family. There are more good people in the world then evil people. Stand firm against them. 49 states aloud citzen to keep and bear arms. When the wolf come to your door let them meet a sheepdog. My heart goes out to the family, but it would of been better for all if the husband and father was the one left standing.
Know you state laws, and do what you need to do to take care of your family.
I deafen my family by playing Dr. Dre nice and loud...like the good lord meant it to be played
Hey Mike I tried that once during a home invasion, first time in years I didn't have my gun next to me in the middle of the night. Those three had guns though, my 25 year old son was home also. They were all half my age at least and bigger than me, we fought like the devil, we got beat half to death, but we fought long and loud enough that they decided escaping would be more prudent as they knew my neighbors were awake by then. One day in the hospital I'm home with my gun in my pocket where it remains today.One in prison for 10 years, one had his pregnant girlfriend lie an alibi, and one was never identified. Their DNA was all over the two guns we captured, and the blood everywhere and they could only prosecute one of them. Give me a break the girlfriends alibi counted more than my eye witness, should it ever happen again they won't need an alibi, they'll need a coffin.
RonRyan: You're the racist, not Salmonella. Big Sal is correct. Where is Jesse and Al? This is black on black violence and people, it is only going to get worse. Arm yourselves, white Christians I am speaking of, and start moving north out of the cities. The U.S.A. is on it's way of going like South Africa did. God help us!
I take it you're not voting for Obama then ?
NO... Please stay in the south. We are getting too much of an influx of brainwashed @!$%# kickers up here.
Let us hope street justice prevails.
Wow!!!! You can't draw this stuff up. Unbelievable. I hope the authorities find this sick son of a bitch!!!
It's CaliPornia; which means a cell with cable tv and the best health care available for free.
Very sad indeed. Papa truly did die as as a hero for his family. So tired of seeing these stories where race frequently becomes an issue if different from the victim. Race doesn't matter....actions do. If convicted, this murderer should be executed - promptly.
any full grown man or woman who endangers or attempts to kill maime or injure a child should receive an old school disembowelment. the father should get a heroes funeral for his attempt to shield those children. as for me and mine our prayers go out to the family. and no I'm not a hypocrite we don't attend church so what i say is not bound by christian ethics. believe in god well we have to believe in something we pray the father is forgiven and allowed to rejoice in haven with his fallen children
Sign of the times ! with the general moral decay in this country since Obama has been in office this is as good as its going to get. And if you want to see a real blood bath in this country try 4 more years of Obama on for size ,with his amnesty program and what ever else tempting giveaways he has in mind it just brings the bottom of the human food chain in among us . The only answer to this problem is for all good americans to arm themselves ! don't look for anybody to save your ass in a situation like this you will have to do it yourself or become a victim. Its as plain and simple as that,you look at states with a "right to carry" law in place and read the statistics. I'am not going out and looking for trouble but if it comes my way I just want to even the playing field with these sick bastards.Arm yourself your loved ones will thank you for it someday
Lordy...another story about a black man killing white folk
Hang the bastard in public and make sure it is a short rope we dont want him to break his neck, just hang him until he pisses his pants in front of his family and dies.
Its funny to see the firemen standing around talking with a house on fire in the background.
Pretty damn pathetic how some of you people on the right and left sit here and make a political fight over a horrible tragic story like this. Frankly, republican or democrat, you should all be locked up in a hole somewhere together to tear eachother apart for being such ignorant pathetic, selfish waste of precious air preaching and bitching to serve your stupid political views and making this a political fight while a family of children are left without a father. The reality is, fighting over the internet, name calling over politics shows just how cowardly you really are. Thank you for being the most pathetic Americans ever. Now I see why other countries laugh at us, it is because of YOU.
I accidentally approved of your remark. The truth is, you're fighting over the internet just like everybody else, with your own agenda...."preaching and bitching to serve" yourself. Ohhhhh, the hypocrisy. Maybe you should stfu, as they say on the world wide interwebs ;)
It will be interesting and instructive to hear what, exactly, was going on here. I suspect some connection between the arsonist/shooter and someone in the building, or serious mental illness. It could, of course, be just a slimeball doing dastardly things, but we don't know, yet. Often in these kinds of horrific crimes, we have a person not operating in reality with serious, untreated mental illness. If that is the case, shouldn't we be trying harder to get mental health treatment/hospitalization reinstated in this country rather than yelling for he death penalty?
I wonder how close we are to spending all of God's patience? It's got to be pretty thin at this point