Woman Slain by Boyfriend in Hostage Standoff, Police Say

A Palms-area mother was shot to death by the man she lived with during a tense hostage standoff Wednesday.

Responding to a call that a woman and her two children were being held hostage by her boyfriend, police arrived at a two-story apartment in the 3600 block of Empire Drive about 11 a.m.

Aware that the man had a gun and was threatening Jennifer Bender, 29, and her children, they tried talking him into surrendering over the phone, said Sgt. John Pasquariello, an LAPD spokesman.

Officers also cordoned off the block and ordered residents to stay indoors.

After a brief conversation, the man, later identified as Dewan L. Thompson, 34, began firing a handgun, spraying multiple rounds inside the apartment and out into the street, sending police diving for cover.

For several minutes, said Pasquariello, it seemed “there were bullets coming from everywhere. The officers wanted desperately to get in that apartment, but they couldn’t.”

A standoff ensued, with a SWAT team taking over about noon. More than two hours later, Thompson crawled out the door, said Lt. Clay Farrell, an investigator from the Robbery/Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Farrell said police didn’t fire during the ordeal.

Police found Bender dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the apartment. Also inside were her children, a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old, who were unhurt.

Thompson was booked on suspicion of murder.