Gunman Kills Self, 4 Child Hostages After Florida Standoff

[appalachiablue]

Source: Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man who police say shot an officer before barricading himself in a Florida apartment killed the four children he had been holding hostage before killing himself, police said Monday.

Orlando police Chief John Mina said at a press conference just before midnight that the suspect, who was identified as 35-year-old Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr., was found dead in a closet when officers entered the apartment nearly 24 hours after the standoff began.

Mina said officers tried to offer one of their phones to Lindsey, whose phone had spotty service, and saw that one of the children had been killed. Authorities entered the apartment around 9 p.m. hoping to rescue the others but all were found dead.

The children with Lindsey ranged in age from 1 to 11, Mina said. The Orlando Sentinel reports two of them were Lindsey's children and two belonged to his girlfriend, who called police Sunday...More...

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/gunman-kills-self-4-child-hostages-after-florida-standoff/ar-AAyvWW3

[More_Cowbell]

1. It's sad, but women with children need to do background checks on men they bring into their lives

These are harrowing times. Those poor kids.

[maxsolomon]

8. "she should have known better than to dress that way"

familicides are as American as school shootings. blame the asshole with the gun.

[Kali]

11. I think more MEN need to work on the problems of

loony violent men and stop laying the blame and work on the victims of it.

[appalachiablue]

12. Agree, but it seems they won't and the need is rarely brought up.

[appalachiablue]

16. More on this news, neighbors' reactions from The Sentinel.

Orlando Sentinel, '4 children dead after Orlando hostage standoff; community reeling — 'It hurts too much,' June 12, '18

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/4-children-dead-after-orlando-hostage-standoff-community-reeling-%e2%80%94-it-hurts-too-much/ar-AAyxXZw?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[joshcryer]

2. I wnoder if there was actually a "hostage situation."

I suspect he killed them shortly after shooting the police officer and they didn't want to go in until they realized. Treating it as a hostage situation.

[Princess Turandot]

3. He was on parole from a 2008 felony conviction for *setting a gf's house on fire*...

and domestic battery.

This incident began with a 911 domestic violence call from the murderer's girlfriend who said he had beaten her. When the cops responded to the apartment house, he began shooting at them, critically wounding one of them.

This was his third domestic assault incident, at the least. :

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-gary-wayne-lindsey-jr-shooter-orlando-police-20180611-story.html

In that [2008] incident, a woman with whom Lindsey was in a relationship told Orange City police that, during an argument, Lindsey had grabbed a kitchen knife and begun stabbing the living room television. He then punched the TV screen with his fist, breaking it, before going to the bedroom, tearing another television off the wall, throwing it on the floor and jumping on it, an arrest affidavit said.

He then demanded that she leave, then poured gasoline around the place, and set it on fire.

[Sancho]

4. People Control, Not Gun Control

He should never had access to a gun...

This is my generic response to gun threads where people are shot and killed by the dumb or criminal possession of guns. For the record, I grew up in the South and on military bases. I was taught about firearms as a child, and I grew up hunting, was a member of the NRA, and I still own guns. In the 70’s, I dropped out of the NRA because they become more radical and less interested in safety and training. Some personal experiences where people I know were involved in shootings caused me to realize that anyone could obtain and posses a gun no matter how illogical it was for them to have a gun. Also, easy access to more powerful guns, guns in the hands of children, and guns that weren’t secured are out of control in our society. As such, here’s what I now think ought to be the requirements to possess a gun. I’m not debating the legal language, I just think it’s the reasonable way to stop the shootings. Notice, none of this restricts the type of guns sold. This is aimed at the people who shoot others, because it’s clear that they should never have had a gun.

1.) Anyone in possession of a gun (whether they own it or not) should have a regularly renewed license. If you want to call it a permit, certificate, or something else that's fine.
2.) To get a license, you should have a background check, and be examined by a professional for emotional and mental stability appropriate for gun possession. It might be appropriate to require that examination to be accompanied by references from family, friends, employers, etc. This check is not to subject you to a mental health diagnosis, just check on your superficial and apparent gun-worthyness.
3.) To get the license, you should be required to take a safety course and pass a test appropriate to the type of gun you want to use.
4.) To get a license, you should be over 21. Under 21, you could only use a gun under direct supervision of a licensed person and after obtaining a learner’s license. Your license might be restricted if you have children or criminals or other unsafe people living in your home. (If you want to argue 18 or 25 or some other age, fine. 21 makes sense to me.)
5.) If you possess a gun, you would have to carry a liability insurance policy specifically for gun ownership - and likely you would have to provide proof of appropriate storage, security, and whatever statistical reasons that emerge that would drive the costs and ability to get insurance.
6.) You could not purchase a gun or ammunition without a license, and purchases would have a waiting period.
7.) If you possess a gun without a license, you go to jail, the gun is impounded, and a judge will have to let you go (just like a DUI).
8.) No one should carry an unsecured gun (except in a locked case, unloaded) when outside of home. Guns should be secure when transporting to a shooting event without demonstrating a special need. Their license should indicate training and special carry circumstances beyond recreational shooting (security guard, etc.). If you are carrying your gun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you lose your gun and license.
9.) If you buy, sell, give away, or inherit a gun, your license information should be recorded.
10.) If you accidentally discharge your gun, commit a crime, get referred by a mental health professional, are served a restraining order, etc., you should lose your license and guns until reinstated by a serious relicensing process.

Most of you know that a license is no big deal. Besides a driver’s license you need a license to fish, operate a boat, or many other activities. I realize these differ by state, but that is not a reason to let anyone without a bit of sense pack a semiautomatic weapon in public, on the roads, and in schools. I think we need to make it much harder for some people to have guns.

For those who want to argue legality, please reference: The Second Amendment: A Biography by Michael Waldman

[KY_EnviroGuy]

5. Good summary of ideas, Sancho.

NRA and GOP congresscritter heads would spin of course, but so be it.

It's bad enough that sane, licensed gun owners can change and go crazy and unleash anger on loved ones or strangers. But what you're proposing would at least weed out the obviously unsuitable people and that would reduce gun-related accidents and murders substantially. Far better than the anything goes, wild West strategy the NRA supports now.

.....

[Sancho]

6. Meanwhile, here in Florida...

http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/06/08/adam-putnams-office-stopped-concealed-weapons-background-checks-for-a-year-because-it-couldnt-log-in/

Adam Putnam’s office stopped reviewing concealed weapons background checks for a year because it couldn’t log in
A state investigation found that the lapse covered a period that included the biggest spike in permit applications in Florida history.

For more than a year, the state of Florida failed to review national background checks on tens of thousands of applications for concealed weapons permits, potentially allowing drug addicts or people with a mental illness to carry firearms in public.

A previously unreported Office of Inspector General investigation found that in February 2016 the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services stopped using the results from an FBI crime database called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System that ensures applicants who want to carry a gun do not have a disqualifying history in other states.

The employee in charge of the background checks could not log into the system, the investigator learned. The problem went unresolved until discovered by another worker in March 2017 — meaning that for more than a year applications got approved without the required background check.

[appalachiablue]

10. Isn't that just dandy. Freedom! with less & less gumint 'interference.'

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Don't know how you put the Genie back in the bottle

"Surrender your guns to the government" would start a Civil War and they have all the firepower

[Judi Lynn]

9. Who is Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr.? Man accused of shooting Florida police officer, killing 4 children

Who is Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr.? Man accused of shooting Florida police officer, killing 4 children
4 hours ago
By Jason Kelly and Christopher Heath, WFTV.com

ORLANDO, FLA. —
The man accused of shooting an Orlando police officer and taking four children hostage before killing them and turning the gun on himself had a long history of run-ins with law enforcement, according to records.

. . .

Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr. was arrested in Volusia County in 2004 on charges of aggravated assault, but the charges were dropped, records show.

. . .

Records show he was arrested in Sanford in 2007 on charges of larceny and petty theft, convicted and sentenced to community service.

. . .

Lindsey in 2009 pleaded no contest to charges of arson and fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer after investigators said he set an Orange City home on fire following an argument with his girlfriend, records said.

. . .

Records show he received 35 years of community supervision, and while under supervision, he has been picked up for a series of probation violations, culminating in 2012 with an aggravated battery and aggravated assault charge in Orange County, stemming from a fight with another girlfriend.

https://www.ajc.com/news/national/who-gary-wayne-lindsey-man-accused-shooting-florida-police-officer-killing-children/teFaOSBAauj1bvCdw5LscI/

[appalachiablue]

14. Thanks for adding info. on the accused. Record a mile long, another one FL.

[Blue_Tires]

13. Dana Loesch's nipples are hardening...

He shot a 1-year-old? really?

[Blue_Tires]

15. White privilege in action:

Lindsey would later plead no contest to domestic battery, arson and fleeing law enforcement and was sentenced to two years of house arrest to be followed by 28 years of probation. The plea also included a suspended 10-year prison sentence, but it was never enforced — even after he repeatedly violated his probation.