Baby delivered from murdered mother dies

A Spanish baby boy has died four days after being born in an emergency caesarian when his mother was shot dead by a deranged gunman, a hospital official said yesterday.

The new-born was delivered by emergency workers just minutes after the gunman shot his 36-year-old mother in a Madrid church, a drama that gripped the Spanish capital.

The infant died at 3.40 p.m. (1340 GMT) on Monday she said, declining to give any details of the cause. The 34-year-old gunman had entered the Santa Maria del Pinar church in northern Madrid on Thursday evening as about 30 people were taking mass.

He shot the pregnant woman in the head, walked down the aisle and shot a second woman in the chest, then knelt before the altar and, looking at his victims, shot himself in the head, media and officials said. An emergency medical team failed to save the life of the mother but decided to try to save the baby after the victim’s mother told them she was nine months’ pregnant.