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A tragedy as it happened: Body camera video released from deadly Orlando apartment standoff

By Steve Barrett, WFTV.com and Kevin Williams
By Steve Barrett, WFTV.com and Kevin Williams

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police have released body camera video from the night of a shooting and standoff that wounded a police officer and left four children and the suspect dead.

The video shows officers making plans to try to rescue the children and the moments after an officer was critically wounded. The moment shots were fired were redacted by Orlando police.

The night of June 10, police said Gary Lindsey Jr. struck his girlfriend. When police arrived, Lindsey allegedly shot Orlando police Officer Kevin Valencia through the door of a home in the Westbrook apartments. The shooting triggered a 20-hour standoff because police believed Lindsey was holed up in the home with four young children.

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The newly released video shows how tense the situation was even before Valencia was wounded, as a somewhat routine domestic violence situation turned much worse.

The video clips start with the girlfriend telling police that Lindsey battered her. She had escaped to a Hooters parking lot where police examined her injuries. Her four children were in the apartment with Lindsey.

Read: 'He's in my house and he has a gun': New audio, timeline from deadly apartment standoff

More police body camera shows the first officers approaching the apartment where Lindsey and children were. At first there was no response at the door. An officer that appears to be Valencia is one of the first at the door. Minutes later, other officers gather near the door to discuss how to proceed.

About five minutes later, officers move in with their guns drawn. Police did not release video of the moment Valencia was shot, which happened around 1 a.m.

Minutes later, another officer's camera captured audio of a fellow officer pleading for Valencia to survive.

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"Come on, buddy. You're going to make it," the officer can be heard saying. Later, other officers are heard discussing the number of shots fired and the layout of the home.

Finally, video shows the building being evacuated as a daylong standoff begins. It's unclear at that time if the children --  Dove, 1, Aiden, 6, Lillia, 10, and Irayan, 12 -- were still alive.

After about 20 hours of trying to communicate and de-escalate the situation, police said they discovered Lindsey fatally shot himself. The children were also dead.

Investigators said they believe the children were killed either shortly before or shortly after Lindsey shot Valencia. The bodies of the children, who were dressed in pajamas, were discovered in their beds.

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Valencia, who remains in a coma, has undergone multiple surgeries and continues to receive treatment at a facility in Georgia.

"We are pulling for the recovery of Officer Kevin Valencia and keeping his wife Meghan, their two boys, and his extended family in our prayers," OPD said in a statement about the newly released evidence. "As the holidays approach, Officer Valencia's OPD family will wrap its arms around Meghan and the boys and do whatever we can to see them through this difficult time of year."

Ciara Lopez, a spokesman for the children's mother, said she has to struggle and cope with the loss of her children on a daily basis and that her thoughts and prayers remain with Valencia's family.

Read: 'I don't have time to be angry': Wife of wounded Orlando police officer shares update

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