Gunman Upset Over Deaf Son’s Treatment Killed After Hostage Standoff

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — A gunman upset at the treatment of his deaf son was shot and killed by police Monday after he invaded an Orange County education building and took an assistant superintendent hostage, authorities said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was killed by a police sharpshooter in the parking lot after he left the county Department of Education building at about 5 p.m. Televised news reports showed the man holding a gun to the back of another man, whose arms were raised. The hostage was unharmed.

The gunman was believed to be the father of a deaf student in a special education program at University High School, and had been confrontational with school officials in the past, county Superintendent of Schools John Dean said. “He was upset at the way we handled his deaf son,” Dean said. “He had showed up at board meetings, where there are guards present, but we have not had this kind of problem.”

The man entered the building early Monday afternoon looking for Dean but took his assistant hostage instead, Dean said. A police SWAT team surrounded the building and evacuated nearby homes. Negotiators spent three hours trying to coax the man into surrendering. When he finally left with the hostage in front of him, police ordered him to drop the gun, authorities said. After repeated demands were refused, a police sniper shot the man, police said.