Suspect in Riverside hostage situation dies

Suspect shot by SWAT officers, ending hourslong standoff at elementary school

LOS ANGELES — SWAT officers on Tuesday evening swarmed a Riverside elementary school classroom and shot a parent who had taken a teacher hostage, ending an hourslong standoff.

The parent, identified as Luvelle Kennon, 27, of Riverside died later at a hospital, said Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback.

The teacher, Linda Montgomery, sustained some scrapes and abrasions when she was grabbed and pulled into an empty classroom, Railsback said.

During the seven-hour standoff, crisis negotiators made contact with the man but never heard from Montgomery, which is why authorities decided to storm into the room about 6 p.m. It’s unclear whether the man was armed but witnesses did not report seeing any weapons.

Officials canceled classes at the elementary school for the rest of the week.

The incident began shortly before 11:15 a.m. when the man forced his way past staff in the main office at Castle View Elementary School, Riverside Unified spokesman Justin Grayson said.

The parent, who has a daughter in first grade, did not appear to follow the school district’s safety procedures and check in with the front desk, Railsback said.

A male teacher confronted the parent, who responded by hitting that teacher in the face, Railsback said. A witness told KABC that the teacher’s face was bloodied and his nose was broken. The teacher was treated at a hospital, police said.

The parent then took Montgomery hostage inside an empty classroom, police said, though it’s not clear why.

Police evacuated all students from the campus and began releasing them to their parents after 1 p.m. All the students were accounted for, Grayson said.

Officials said Montgomery was in good condition.

Riverside police said a substitute teacher was hurt “after being struck by the suspect while attempting to intervene and prevent him from taking the other teacher hostage. This substitute teacher sustained a broken nose and other facial injuries.”

GARY CORONADO/LOS ANGELES TIMES Myla Grissom, 11, a fifth-grader, hugs her father, Calvin Grissom, left, at the evacuation release point at Castleview Park in Riverside on Tuesday after a man, identified by police as Luvelle Kennon of Riverside, took a teacher hostage at the school....