Two people died and two were in custody after a Hawthorne police officer came upon a shooting in progress. Beverly White reports for the NBC4 News at 11 on Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2015
A woman was killed and a boy critically wounded in a shooting that ended with the gunman being fatally shot by a police officer in Hawthorne.
The officer came upon a shooting in progress at Rosecrans and Kornblum avenues at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday moments after a woman told a traffic officer she thought she was being followed, a Hawthorne Police Department spokesman said.
The officer was pulling up and witnessed a man, identified as Robert Washington Jr., get out of a car shoot at a woman in a Mercedes-Benz with two handguns. The officer responded by opening fire on the gunman, officials said.
A 12-year-old boy who was a passenger in the victim's car was shot several times. He is in stable condition.
Police do not yet have a motive for why Washington, 37, of Rialto, carried out the attack.
Washington's relatives said the father-of-three had his share of problems, but do not understand why the shooting occurred.
"He wasn't the kind to go out looking for trouble but his size intimidated people," said Eddie Washington, the man's uncle, "He's got kid's of his own. Why would he shoot a kid?"
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Two other people in the suspect's car — the driver and passenger — are in custody and are facing murder charges.
No officers were injured.
Kathy Vara and Beverly White contributed to this report
