The gunman who shot his relatives and two SWAT officers during a standoff at a house in San Fernando Valley was killed Thursday, 11 hours later, as he emerged from the burning house.

The two SWAT officers who got shot left the LAPD very sadden. Officer Randal Simmons is the first member in the four-decade history of SWAT to get killed in the line of duty. He was shot in the neck when the SWAT team stormed inside the house trying to save the hostages.

James Veenstra, another SWAT officer, was also shot, but he was luckier as he was in the hospital recovering.

Even though it’s not clear from where the violence emerged, it appears that the dispute involved a father and his three sons. The dead persons were identified by relatives as Gerardo Rivera, 50, an immigrant from El Salvador, owner of a truck company and his sons Edgar, 19, Edwin, 20, and Andy, 21.

According to many police sources, the shooter was identified as Edwin Rivera.

Apparently there were tensions in the family due to father’s relationship with a girlfriend. His wife died almost 8 years ago, and according to Jose Ortiz, 21, a friend of the family, Edwin was a dropped out of Reseda High School.

He said: "I don't know what would make him do something like that. I never would have expected this to happen," Los Angeles Times reports.

There was one survivor, a woman, who probably managed to escape when police fired tear gad and knocked down a wall. She is thought to be the father’s girlfriend. The woman was taken to hospital for treatment of tear gas inhalation.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at a news conference near the shooting scene: "Today is a sad and tragic day in the city of Los Angeles,"

According to Police Chief William J. Bratton, condolences from all over SWAT units in the world poured in at the LAPD.

The incident occurred around 9 p.m. Wednesday when the suspect made a 911 call saying he had shot three people at his home in the 19800 block of Welby Way in the Valley neighborhood of Winnetka. The neighborhood is known to be quiet.

Police surrounded the house and at 12:30 a.m. decided to send in a SWAT team. Unfortunately the action wasn’t a successful one as the two officers were shot by the suspect. Both of them were wearing helmets and bulletproof vests.

They were taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center where Simmons was declared dead after 1 a.m.

Police convinced two relatives of the suspect to call him and use a bullhorn in order to talk with him. The attempts failed according to Deputy Chief Michel Moore, the incident commander.

Around 5 a.m. police used tear gas canisters and an armored vehicle with a battering ram in order to tear down a back wall. That was when the woman, Elba Rivera, escaped. Apparently she had hidden in a closet during the standoff.

Soon after, the house was on fire and the shooter came out and started to shoot. He was killed with a single shoot to the neck.

Police said that it is very hard to say who the shooter was as the three brothers were so close in age.

Veenstra was in operation for three hours and according to Gabriel Aslanian, one of the surgeons who operated him, his prognosis should be “very good.”