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Police snipers kill Indiana man who shot ex, held toddler hostage

Officers surround a house in Fort Wayne, Ind., where police said a man suspected of killing a bus passenger earlier in the day was holding a 3-year-old child hostage.
(Swikar Patel / Associated Press)
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Two people were dead in Fort Wayne, Ind., after a man pulled his ex-girlfriend off a bus Wednesday and shot her in broad daylight, then ran away, police said.

Police identified the woman as Jacqueline Bouvier Hardy, 49, and the man as Kenneth Knight, 45. Hardy had recently obtained a restraining order against Knight.

About four hours later, police tracked Knight to a house where he had holed up with a 3-year-old and three adults, police said. The three adults reportedly ran out of the house when police arrived.

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Police tried to negotiate for the child’s release, but Knight, who apparently didn’t know the toddler, wouldn’t let the child come outside, police said.

Four and a half hours later, two police snipers opened fire at the same time, killing Knight, officials said.

The 3-year-old was unharmed.

Police told local news media that the snipers had been given the go-ahead to fire if they got a clear shot at Knight.

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“No one likes this kind of an ending to a situation like this,” Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York said, according to the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. “Mr. Knight dictated the ending.”

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