Calif. Father Fatally Shot After Taking Teacher Hostage

A parent's dispute with staff members at the California school where his daughter is in first grade escalated into a fight, a hostage-taking, and a fatal shooting Tuesday. Police in Riverside say 27-year-old Luvelle Kennon was shot when a SWAT team stormed the classroom where he'd been holding 70-year-old teacher Linda Montgomery hostage for more than six hours, the Los Angeles Times reports. He died later at a local hospital. Police say the incident at Castle View Elementary School began around 11am when Kennon forced his way past staff after failing to check in at the front desk. He then had an altercation with a staff member and assaulted a substitute teacher who tried to intervene, breaking his nose.

After Kennon dragged Montgomery into an empty classroom, the school was locked down and then evacuated. Police say they made contact with Kennon during the standoff but decided to storm the room because they were unable to speak to Montgomery. Officials and witnesses say Kennon didn't appear to have a weapon. Relatives say they took his car keys away after he had an emotional breakdown, but he made his way to the school anyway. "He had a breakdown, and he relapsed again. That's all, he's not dangerous," uncle Carl Jackson tells KABC. Montgomery had some scrapes and bruises and was hospitalized as a precaution, NBC News reports. Classes were canceled for the rest of the week. (More California stories.)