2 Children Die in Car Fire; Man Questioned

Two young children died Sunday when their father reportedly placed them in a vehicle, doused it with gasoline and set it on fire, police said.

City firefighters responded about 4:45 p.m. to a warehouse complex in the 900 block of Pico Boulevard, south of downtown Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles police and fire officials.

Firefighters found a compact sport utility vehicle parked partially in a garage and engulfed in flames. A 54-year-old man, whom police identified only as the children’s father, was standing nearby with severe burns to his legs, face and hands, Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

A witness told police that the man had set the vehicle ablaze, Los Angeles Police Officer Sandra Escalante said.

After extinguishing the fire, firefighters discovered the charred remains of the two children. Police declined to release their ages or names.

The father was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in critical condition, Humphrey said.

Police were questioning the father late Sunday night at the hospital, Escalante said.