Four children were fatally shot by a gunman who then apparently turned the gun on himself, ending a 24-hour standoff with police who who were responding to a domestic dispute in Orlando.
Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr, 35, was identified earlier on Monday evening as the suspect who allegedly shot and wounded a police officer and then took four children ages 1, 6, 10, and 11 hostage.
The news was reported by WESH-TV.
Police responded to a call from a woman who said that she was being beaten by her boyfriend.
Two of the children belonged to Lindsey and the other two children were those of his girlfriend, according to Orlando police.
Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr, 35, a felon who is now on probation for arson and other crimes, is believed to have shot dead four children before killing himself, ending a long standoff with police in Orlando
Orlando Police Chief John Mina (above) told reporters that law enforcement officials responded to a domestic violence call
Orlando police Chief John Mina said that officers were told by the woman that Lindsey assaulted her.
Police urged Lindsey to end the standoff peacefully and allow the children to live, according to Mina.
Lindsey was a felon who on probation for arson and other crimes, including domestic violence.
The incident began at about 11.45pm Sunday, when the woman left her apartment and told officers that she had been assaulted by Lindsey.
The officers went back to the woman’s home in the Westbrook Apartments, located near the Universal Orlando theme park in Orlando, Florida.
While attempting to arrest Lindsey, he and police exchanged gunfire.
One of the officers was shot by the man, but it was unclear to authorities if the man was shot during the volley.
Police said Lindsey took four children hostage and barricaded himself inside the apartment with them.
The injured officer was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery.
The scene outside the Orlando apartment complex where Lindsey allegedly shot a police officer and held four children hostage. The standoff ended 24 hours later with all four children dead. Lindsey was also found dead from an apparent gunshot wound
Mina (center) said the officer was seriously injured during the Sunday night shootout with the suspect and required surgery, but is expected to live
Photos from outside the Westbrook Apartments following the incident reveal multiple Orlando police cruisers arriving on the scene where a fellow officer was shot at about 11.45pm Sunday
The shooting and hostage situation took place at the Westbrook Apartments in Orlando. A SWAT team was on site attempting to negotiate with Lindsey
Orlando police supporting each other outside the hospital where the police officer was taken for surgery after sustaining serious injury during the shootout with Lindsey
His wound was deemed a ‘very serious, significant injury,’ but he is expected to survive, according to Orlando Police Chief John Mina, who briefed media about the incident early Monday morning.
‘Our main concern is the safety of the children in that apartment,’ Mina said.
Mina said that a SWAT team was on site and has been trying to negotiate with Lindsey.
SWAT spoke with Lindsey a few times, but he has also hung up on them a few times, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
‘Hopefully he peacefully surrenders,’ Mina said hours before the standoff came to its tragic end.
Officers evacuated residents of the complex in the middle of the night.
Some were milling around nearby restaurant parking lots on Monday morning, still wearing pajamas.