EL MONTE (California) - A CAMOUFLAGED gunman has been killed during a standoff with police that began when he snatched a boy off the sidewalk and held him hostage in a suburban Los Angeles restaurant.

Sheriff's officials say the man was declared dead on Tuesday night at the El Monte restaurant following gunshots. The 6-year-old boy was hit in the leg and transported to a hospital in critical but stable condition.

It was not clear who fired the shots.

Detective Ralph Batres says the man, whose name has not been released, grabbed the boy off a sidewalk with a handgun and took him into a back room of a Chinese restaurant.

Authorities negotiated with the man for about two hours before a flash-bang grenade exploded and gunshots were fired inside the building. -- AP