Authorities in Orlando on Monday said a suspect who shot a police officer has barricaded himself in an apartment in the central Florida city with four children.
Officers arrived at an apartment complex near the Universal Orlando theme park late Sunday after a woman said she been battered by the suspect, whom she described as her boyfriend, police said.
Police and the man — who is with four children ages 1,7, 10, and 12 in the apartment — exchanged gunfire and one officer was seriously injured. The woman had left the apartment after she was allegedly assaulted.
Police chief John Mina told reporters at a Monday morning news conference that the officer suffered “very significant injuries” but is expected to survive. It was unclear if the suspect had been injured in the gunfire. Police negotiators urged the man to give himself up.
“We are trying to negotiate with the subject so that he peacefully surrenders,” Mina said. “Our main concern right now is the safety of the children in that apartment.”
Judy Pepper, a resident of the apartment complex, told the Orlando Sentinel that she looked out her window after the hearing the pops of gunfire and saw three people carrying a police officer onto the grass.
She said other officers arrived, cut open his shirt and appeared to be putting bandages on his neck. Then, they put him in a patrol car and sped away.
“Hell, yes, I was absolutely terrified,” she said.
The officer was being treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery.