A Gunman Is Holding 4 Kids Hostage in Florida

Suspect shot a police officer during standoff
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 11, 2018 4:37 PM CDT
A Gunman Is Holding 4 Kids Hostage in Florida
Orlando Police block an intersection leading to an apartment complex where an officer was shot and seriously wounded before the gunman barricaded himself in an apartment with young children. Monday, June 11, 2018, in Orlando, Fla.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A man who police say shot an officer then barricaded himself in an apartment with four children was being urged Monday to release the hostages and peacefully end a standoff that had lasted more than 12 hours, the AP reports. Police negotiators have communicated with suspect Gary Lindsey five times since the standoff at an apartment started around midnight Sunday, Chief John Mina said at a news conference. "We are urging him to release the children and let this come to a peaceful resolution," Mina said. The children with Lindsey range in age from 1 to 11. Some of them are Lindsey's children and some belong to his girlfriend. "Our main concern is the safety of the children in that apartment," Mina said.

Officers were called to the apartment by his girlfriend because of a domestic dispute. Upon arriving, the officers were fired upon, and Officer Kevin Valencia was shot. An officer was able to return fire, the police chief said. Valencia was expected to survive but had "very significant injuries," Mina said. Court record shows Lindsey, 35, has an extensive criminal history involving arson, battery and theft. He is currently on probation. Officers evacuated other residents of the complex in the middle of the night. Some were milling around nearby restaurant parking lots Monday morning, still wearing pajamas. They were later taken to a nearby hotel.

(More hostages stories.)

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