Standoff goes on into night
4 children held hostage; officer suffered gunshot at apartment on Monday
A standoff that began just after midnight on Monday at a west Orlando apartment complex stretched into the evening after a man suspected of shooting a police officer barricaded himself with four young children as hostages, authorities said.
Shortly before 9 p.m. Monday, a large boom was heard coming from the complex, but there was no indication what that might mean.
As the evening wore on, there was a heavy police presence with firetrucks lined up the street. There were no other statements from the police and officers were checking IDs before letting residents in. Residents who live in the immediate area of the apartment where the children were being held hostage could not return home.
Police identified the suspect as 35-year-old Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr., a felon currently on probation for arson and other charges. The wounded officer, Kevin Valencia, was recovering after surgery at Orlando Regional Medical Center and was expected to live.
In a Monday afternoon press conference, police Chief John Mina pleaded with Lindsey to end the standoff without any more bloodshed.
“We are urging him to release those children and help this situation come to a peaceful resolution,” Mina said.
The Police Department said Lindsey had four hostages, ages 1, 6, 10 and 11. Two are believed to be Lindsey’s, while the others are believed to belong to the victim in the case, which began when a woman called police to report that Lindsey had battered her at the Westbrook Apartments, Mina said.
Asked if authorities could be sure the children were still alive, Mina said, “We have no information otherwise.”
“Yes, we believe they’re still alive at this time,” Mina added.
The standoff at the apartment complex at 4932 Eaglesmere Drive, off Kirkman Road near Universal Orlando, forced residents from their homes in the middle of the night as SWAT officers descended on the complex.
Judy Pepper, 44, said she lives at the apartment complex, in the unit just below the suspect’s apartment. She had fallen asleep on her couch after watching the Yankees-Mets game. She said she was startled awake when she heard four loud gunshots: “It just went, ‘Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop,’’ Pepper said.
She then heard someone screaming and then a loud commotion near the stairwell.
Pepper said she looked out her window and saw three people carrying a police officer onto the grass. Other officers arrived and started working on the injured officer, Pepper said.
They cut open his shirt and appeared to put bandages on his neck, Pepper said. Officers put him in a patrol car and sped away, she said.
“Hell, yes, I was absolutely terrified,’’ Pepper said.
Pepper and other residents were told to vacate the complex, and they were moved to a nearby McDonald’s, then to a Holiday Inn.
Another resident, 58-year-old Steven Martinez was in the bathroom, preparing to go to bed, when he said he heard shots being fired.
“I got scared, and I called 911,” Martinez said.
When police arrived, they told everyone in that apartment building to leave, Martinez said. He said SWAT personnel were in the parking lot.
Another resident, Jesus Perez, and his 16-year-old son, Santiago, were sleeping when they heard a loud knock at their door after midnight.
“It startled me,’’ Santiago said. “My father opened up the door. There were about 20 police officers in the hallway. They told us to put some clothes on and get out. They told us to move quickly.’’
Mina said the shooting happened after officers responded about 11:45 p.m. Sunday to a woman who reported being battered by Lindsey at the Westbrook Apartments. 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 and Valencia was hit, Mina said.
Valencia, who is in his late 20s, was still in critical condition Monday afternoon, Mina said.
Mina said they made contact with Lindsey about five times, but the police chief declined to detail what the suspect said to negotiators.
Mina said at least one officer returned fire during the exchange. He said it was unknown whether Lindsey was hit.
Records show Lindsey is currently on probation stemming from a 2008 arrest in Volusia County, in which he was accused of trying to burn down a house in Orange City during an domestic argument. He was accused of threatening a woman with a knife as she held her 7-month-old son in Orange County in 2012, but prosecutors opted not to file charges in that case.