Christian Dixon, 5

Christian Dixon, a 5-year-old black child, was shot and killed by his mother on Saturday, Oct. 17, in the 7200 block of South Gramercy Place in Manchester Square, authorities said.

The Times' Tami Abdollah has the full story: South L.A. woman allegedly shoots 2 sons

The following is an excerpt:

A young mother who allegedly shot her two boys Saturday -- killing her 5-year-old and critically wounding her 1 1/2 -year-old -- shouted, "I've wasted my life!" from her balcony and threatened to kill herself before she was arrested, police and neighbors said.

LaTonya Dixon, 25, called 911 about 8:30 a.m. Saturday and told the dispatcher that she had killed her children. When officers arrived at the three-unit apartment complex in the 7200 block of South Gramercy Place in South Los Angeles, the woman was standing on a second-floor balcony waving a handgun.

After hearing a woman scream, next-door neighbor Sandra Jones said, she saw Dixon on the balcony rail and yelled out, "No, don't jump! You have [the elder son] and the baby to think about! They're going to need you."

As officers arrived at the beige stucco apartment, Dixon told police to shoot her. She was walking in and out of her apartment with a handgun, police said. Officers ordered her numerous times to drop the gun, but she refused, police said.

Photo: Ben Dixon, brother of the woman who allegedly shot her two children, speaks with police near the apartment where the shooting took place. Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times