Shot officer still in coma; wife tearfully pleads for recovery
The Orlando police officer who was shot in the head and critically injured during a standoff Sunday remains in a coma with a “long road to recovery,” his doctor said during a press conference Wednesday.
Sobbing uncontrollably, Officer Kevin Valencia’s wife described him as a great father and husband. They’re each other’s first loves, she said, having dated since they were both 12 years old. “He has to come back,” Meghan Valencia said. Kevin Valencia, 27, was shot Sunday night while responding to a domestic-violence call at an apartment complex in west Orlando. His shooting was the catalyst for a 21-hour standoff that ended when Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr. killed four young children — ages 1 to 11 — before turning the gun on himself.
Chief John Mina said Lindsey shot Valencia, the children and himself with a handgun stolen from his father — the only gun in his possession that night. Mina had previously said that Lindsey was also armed with two rifles and two shotguns.
The medical examiner determined that the bullets
used to kill the children all came from Lindsey’s gun — ruling out the possibility that any of the children were shot by officers returning fire during the initial gun battle, Mina said.
Even in the midst of her own family’s trauma, Meghan Valencia said she was still thinking about the family of the children who were killed.
“It is more than what anybody can bear,” she said. “I know every officer wanted to get those children out. Each and every one of them feels the weight of the world because they couldn’t.”
The Valencias have two young children.
“He’s the most amazing father ever,” his wife said. “He didn’t mind changing the diapers.”
Although Valencia is showing some signs of improvement, “he faces a long recovery,’’ trauma surgeon Chadwick Smith said.
Along with the emotional stress, his family also faces financial hardship, said Shawn Dunlap, the president of the Orlando chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police. You can contribute to his GoFundMe at this link.
Mina defended the decision to wait more than 20 hours before storming the apartment, saying the officers didn’t want to make entry for fear of endangering the children.
Valencia and other officers responded to the Westbrook Apartments around 11:45 p.m. Sunday after the kids’ mother, Ciara Lopez, reported Lindsey had battered her. As a felon on probation, Lindsey was prohibited by law from possessing guns.
In a statement, the Florida Department of Corrections said the agency’s last visit to Lindsey’s home was March 27, and there were “no visible firearms discovered.”
“We are extremely heartbroken by the outcome of yesterday’s incident involving this criminal,” state Corrections Secretary Julie Jones said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences go out to everyone affected by this tragedy, and the Department stands ready to assist local law enforcement in any way we can moving forward.”
Mina said he didn’t understand why Lindsey — who had repeatedly violated his probation — was still on the streets.
“It was a shame this person was not behind bars,” he said. Staff writers Stephen Ruiz and Maria Vizcaino contributed. Michael Williams can be reached at miwilliams @orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5022 or @michaeldamianw.