Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A gunman used his baby son as a shield while he fired at deputies, who did not return fire until after the man's ex-girlfriend took the child away from him, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Monday.

The 43-year-old man was hit by multiple gunshots but was expected to survive, a department statement said.

The drama that unfolded late Sunday in unincorporated Willowbrook was described by sheriff's Lt. John Corina as a combination love triangle and attempted suicide by cop.

The suspect confronted his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend around 10 p.m. outside a house on East 126th Street and shot him in the face with a revolver, then drove off with the 1-year-old baby, according to the department statement, which did not release any identities of those involved.

Deputies spotted the car and attempted to stop it, but the driver led them on a chase that finally ended up back at the house.

The man stopped his car and got out, holding the baby in one arm and the revolver in the other hand, pointing it at deputies who did not fire for fear of hitting the child, the statement said.

Failing to get into the ex-girlfriend's house through a locked side door, the man fired one shot at deputies, who still held their fire as he tried and failed to get in through the locked front door and once again fired at deputies, according to the account.

The ex-girlfriend, who is the baby's mother, finally opened the front door, took the baby away from the suspect and went back inside the house.

"Once the ex-girlfriend had the baby, the suspect again pointed his handgun at the deputies and that is when a deputy-involved shooting occurred," the department statement said.

The new boyfriend who was shot at the outset was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive.

No deputies were hurt.

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