Authorities say the child was not hurt; the man died at a hospital after the Thursday night shooting.
PARAMOUNT, CA — Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a man late Thursday after a 25-minute standoff outside a home where the man held a toddler in one arm and a handgun in the other, authorities said. The confrontation unfolded on the 8000 block of Alhambra Avenue just before 10 p.m., and the wounded man was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Investigators say the encounter began with a call that a boyfriend was outside a residence with a gun. Deputies arrived within minutes and found the man on a front porch with a child in his grasp. They tried to negotiate but opened fire after the man raised the weapon toward them, according to early accounts from the Sheriff’s Department. The toddler was not injured. Detectives from the department’s Homicide Bureau are leading the shooting investigation, which is in its first days. The man’s identity had not been released by Saturday, pending notification of relatives and additional investigative steps.
Deputies were dispatched around 9:30 p.m. Thursday and encountered the suspect near Alhambra Avenue and Paramount Boulevard. Officials said negotiators urged him repeatedly to put down the gun and release the child during a standoff that lasted more than 25 minutes on the porch of the residence. At least two patrol units and fire paramedics staged nearby. “The child was not injured,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a brief statement Saturday. Paramedics transported the man around 10:07 p.m.; he was later pronounced dead. No deputies were hurt, officials said, and investigators recovered a handgun at the scene.
Authorities said the child involved was about 2 years old. Early witness accounts indicated the man held the child in one arm while gripping the gun in the other. The residence is linked to the man’s girlfriend, officials said. It remained unclear whether the man fired his weapon during the standoff or made any demands. How many rounds deputies fired was not immediately known. Detectives marked shell casings and photographed the porch and front walkway overnight. Neighbors described the street as usually quiet on weeknights; several said they heard shouting and then a rapid series of shots before sirens converged on the block.
The shooting took place on a residential stretch of Paramount, a southeast Los Angeles County city bordered by Compton and South Gate. Deputy-involved shootings in the county trigger parallel reviews by the Sheriff’s Department, the county’s Office of Inspector General and, in deadly cases, the District Attorney’s Office. Investigators typically examine body-worn camera footage, radio traffic and physical evidence and take statements from those who witnessed the confrontation. As of Saturday, officials had not released the man’s name or the child’s relationship to him. The Sheriff’s Department said the toddler was placed with family and was medically evaluated as a precaution.
Detectives with the Homicide Bureau processed the scene through the early morning hours Friday, canvassing for surveillance video on nearby homes and collecting items from the porch area. Officials said the deputies who discharged their weapons were separated and interviewed under standard protocol. The department will compile a critical incident report and plans to release video from the shooting once the initial fact-gathering is complete, in keeping with county policy. A formal autopsy will determine the man’s cause of death and whether he had any injuries other than gunshot wounds.
By midmorning Friday, yellow tape still sealed off portions of Alhambra Avenue. A child’s scooter leaned near the walkway. Residents stopped to ask deputies when they could reenter driveways blocked by cruisers and a crime-scene van. “We heard them talking to him for a while,” said a neighbor who declined to give her name but said she has lived on the block for more than a decade. “Then there were shots, and all we cared about was whether the baby was OK.” Another resident, who said he returned home from a late shift to find the street closed, described a line of patrol cars and fire engines extending to the corner.
As of Saturday afternoon, investigators had not announced any arrests or additional suspects and had not detailed what led to the initial dispute at the house. The Sheriff’s Department said the shooting remains under active review. The next public update is expected after preliminary interviews and evidence reviews are finished in the coming days. The child remained uninjured and with relatives, officials said.
Author note: Last updated December 6, 2025.