Father Dies Shielding Children From Gunman Who Set Home Ablaze

By NBC Los Angeles

Father Dies Shielding Children From Gunman Who Set Home Ablaze

October 20, 2012 Updated Oct 20, 2012 at 11:10 AM PDT

A 30-year-old father died shielding his children from bullets fired into their Inglewood home early Saturday by a gunman who set the duplex on fire.

The father's 4-year-old son was also killed and the man's wife and two other children were wounded in the attack, police said.

The shooting and fire in the 4900 block of 99th Street was reported about 4 a.m.

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, about 55 years-old. Police said he may have lived in a rear unit on 99th Street near La Brea Avenue.

"We do not know where the suspect is," said Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta during a press conference Saturday morning outside the still-smouldering home.

The mother was shot in the pelvis and knee, Fronterotta said. She was seen by firefighters carrying the 4-year-old out of the house,
Fronterotta said.

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