Four young children were discovered dead at a west Orlando apartment complex late Monday, nearly 24 hours after a standoff that began when an Orlando police officer was shot responding to a domestic violence call.
The gunman was also found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a closet when SWAT officers entered the apartment at about 9 p.m., Orlando Police Chief John Mina said at a news conference just before midnight.
“A short time ago we made entry into the apartment and found that all four children have been killed by the suspect by apparent gunshot wounds,” Mina said.
“Our hearts go out to the families involved.”
The children were ages 1, 6, 10 and 11. “We have no idea when those children lost their lives,” Mina said.
Police earlier Monday had identified the suspected gunman as 35-year-old Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr., a felon who was on probation for arson and other charges.
The standoff began after officers responded about 11:45 p.m. Sunday to a woman who reported being battered by Lindsey at the Westbrook Apartments, police said. The woman had fled the second-story apartment to a nearby restaurant on Kirkman Road to call police. Officers tried to arrest Lindsey at the apartment when a shootout began.
Orlando Police officer Kevin Valencia was shot and suffered a “significant” injury, Mina said. Valencia is recovering after surgery at Orlando Regional Medical Center and was expected to live. He was still in critical condition early Tuesday, Mina said. He asked for prayers for Valencia, who is in his 20s.
Two of the children found dead are believed to be Lindsey’s, while the others are believed to belong to the domestic violence victim.
Mina said his officers had been in “direct and indirect” contact with Lindsey throughout the day, with the last indirect contact between 8:30 and 9 p.m. The gunman’s phone had spotty service, and police tried to offer him one of their phones. That’s when they saw the body of one child and decided to try to rescue the other children.
A big boom was heard at the complex at about 9 p.m.
The standoff at the apartment complex at 4932 Eaglesmere Dr., off Kirkman Road near Universal Orlando, forced residents from their homes in the middle of the night as SWAT officers descended on the complex.
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