Suspect in kidnapping is shot by police

Los Angeles police arrested a 29-year-old man Sunday who was accused of kidnapping several children, sexually assaulting one woman and shooting another during an attempted carjacking. The man, Angel Samos, was shot in the head by police during a confrontation about 5:30 p.m. at an apartment complex near 16th Street and Pacific Avenue in Long Beach.

He was shot when he was running toward detectives with a gun in his hand, said Officer Karen Rayner, an LAPD spokeswoman.

Samos was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition and is expected to survive, Rayner said. The four children with him, ages 1 to 11, were unharmed and taken by police, she said.

Police said the incident began Saturday afternoon, when Samos allegedly sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint in South Los Angeles. He then fled with the victim, her daughter, 11, and her niece, 6.

On Saturday evening, the suspect allegedly shot a 24-year-old woman during an attempted carjacking at a gas station at 45th Street and Avalon Boulevard,police said. During the incident, the ex-girlfriend managed to escape, but the suspect fled with the two children, police said. The shooting victim was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in critical but stable condition.

The suspect then met with his mother at a liquor store in Long Beach, police said. He left with two more children, both his own, according to police. The suspect subsequently offered by telephone to trade some of the children for his ex-girlfriend, said LAPD Det. Jason Delacova. The children were identified as Matthew Angel Samos, 1; Jose Angel Diaz, 5; Ariyanna Denise Wade, 6; and Ashley Elizabeth Tathkran, 11.

--Maeve Reston