Daylong standoff ends as deputies shoot and kill high-speed pursuit suspect barricaded with child in Lancaster
A daylong standoff ended with authorities shooting a high-speed pursuit suspect in Lancaster.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the a man was engaged in a high-speed pursuit with officers, firing at least oneshot at them at one point before barricading inside of a Lancaster mobile home with an infant.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol at around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday began pursuing a man who was driving at speeds over 130 mph through surface streets in Palmdale before driving onto the northbound 14 Highway Freeway, CHP Officer Patrick Kimball said.
During the pursuit, the man called the sheriff's department and threatened to shoot at officers if they didn't break away from the chase, investigators said.
The suspect, who has since been identified as Fernando Fierro, 44, eventually did fire at officers, but nobody was injured, according to the CHP.
The CHP said the suspect had an infant with him during the chase, and when he came to a stop, he exited his car with a gun pointed at the child's head as he backed into a mobile home, where he remained barricaded with the infant until around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.
During the standoff, the CHP contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, who dispatched a SWAT team to the Lido Estates mobile home park in the 2500 block of East Avenue I.
Deputies shot the man at around 9:30 p.m., bring the hours-long standoff to an end. The status of the suspect was not immediately known.
Los Angeles County Fire Department reported that the child was transported to a nearby hospital for a check-up, but is said to be okay.
The standoff continued throughout the day on Wednesday and into the evening hours, and negotiators worked to take the man into custody and rescue the child.
"The suspect placed a gun to the child's head while deputy personnel attempted to communicate with him, at which time a deputy involved shooting occurred," the sheriff's department said in a statement released on Thursday morning.
"The shooting occurred at approximately 9:05 p.m.," the sheriff's department said. "The suspect was treated by medical personnel on scene and pronounced deceased. A firearm was recovered at the scene. The child was not injured during the incident."
During the standoff, Elijandra Rosas, who identified herself as the suspect's aunt, told reporters at the scene the suspect was named Fernando, and that he had his year-old son with him inside the mobile home. She issued a plea for him to surrender.
"Fernando, please get out of the house, please. I want to see you. I want to see the baby. ... Please, think of your mom and your dad and your sister and your brother, Fernando, please," she said.
