A Florida police officer was shot Sunday night while exchanging gunfire with a man who allegedly beat his girlfriend and is now holding four children hostage inside an apartment.
The incident began at about 11.45pm Sunday, when the woman left her apartment and told officers that she had been assaulted by her boyfriend.
The officers went back to the woman’s home in the Westbrook Apartments, located near the Universal Orlando theme park in Orlando, Florida.
The scene outside the Orlando apartment complex where a man suspected to domestic violence shot a police officer and is now holding four children, under 13, hostage
While attempting to arrest the boyfriend, 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 the man has now taken four children — ages one, seven, 10 and 12 — hostage and has barricaded himself inside the apartment with them.
The injured officer was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery.
Orlando Police chief John 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 is on site, attempting to negotiate with the man
Orlando police supporting each other outside the hospital where the police officer was taken for surgery after sustaining serious injury during the shootout with the man
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 is on site and has been trying to negotiate with the man. So far, SWAT has spoken with the man 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.
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.
Police have not released the name of the man or the wounded officer. The suspect’s relationship to the children was not stated yet either.