Police in La Crosse fatally shoot carjacker who took vehicle with 1-year-old inside

LA CROSSE— A man who carjacked a vehicle with a young child inside has been fatally shot by police in La Crosse.

Authorities say a woman was in her SUV with her two children at Houska Park about 5 p.m. Sunday when a man approached, showed a handgun and demanded her vehicle.

Police say the mother was able to get her three-year-old out of the vehicle, but the gunman stole the SUV with her one-year-old child still inside.

Officers quickly located the vehicle and began a short pursuit which ended when the man crashed into a parked vehicle. Officers confronted the man as he tried to drive forward. Capt. Jason Melby says the officers saw the suspect with a gun and shot him. He was pronounced dead at a La Crosse hospital about 6 p.m. The child was not seriously hurt.