Orlando police Officer Kevin Valencia
is now capable of small gestures such as squeezing a hand or giving a thumbs up. The officer — shot in the head in a standoff that killed four children — remains in a coma.
Orlando police Officer Kevin Valencia is now responsive — capable of small gestures like squeezing a hand or giving a thumbs up — but remains in a coma, his wife said Wednesday afternoon.
Meghan Valencia called his progress “truly wonderful.”
“That’s absolutely amazing news, considering the trauma that he has gone through,” she said, during an afternoon press conference at the Orlando Police Department’s headquarters.
Kevin Valencia will soon be transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Georgia, his wife said. She thanked his doctors and nurses at Orlando Regional Medical Center, as well as his fellow OPD officers.
“These men and women here have been strong for me,” Meghan Valencia said. “They have held me as I’ve cried. They were completely understanding … Throughout this entire time, they’ve been here to hep me smile again.”
Valencia, 27, was shot in the head by domestic violence suspect Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr.
The officer’s shooting led to a lengthy standoff with Lindsey, who had four children with him inside a unit at the Westbrook Apartments.
When police entered the apartment, they discovered Lindsey had killed the children, then himself, authorities said.
Lindsey, 35, had a slew of arrests going back years and spanning three Central Florida counties.
Three days after the shooting, doctors said Valencia had a “long road to recovery” as he remained in a coma. A police spokesperson confirmed Valencia was breathing on his own last week.
“These men and women here have been strong for me. They have held me as I’ve cried. They were completely understanding … Throughout this entire time, they’ve been here to hep me smile again.” Meghan Valencia