ORLANDO - Eleven-year-old Irayan was an over-achiever in school. Lillia, who was 10, enjoyed playing with her friends and going to Volcano Bay. Aidan, 6, loved dinosaurs. Dove, who was two months shy of her second birthday, was a lively toddler. That's how the family friend and attorney Walter Benenati described the four children who authorities say were held as hostages and killed by a man suspected of shooting an Orlando police officer. Benenati first identified the minors on Tuesday through a GoFundMe campaign. Their grandfather works for him as a building maintenance employee, but he has yet to meet the 31-year-old mother. "She's in a deep state of shock," Benenati said in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. "Everybody loved these children and the fact that they were lost like this is just unfathomable." Their mother lived at the home where they were held hostage by Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr., according to Benenati. She worked as a customer service agent. Lindsey didn't work and he did not live with her, but he would occasionally stay at her place. Lindsey, who police said died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, was father to Aidan and Dove. "Some may question why she ran out of that building, but nobody can know what she was going through, what horror she was feeling," Benenati said of the mother. "In fairness to her, nobody can imagine taking the life of precious young children, which is what happened here." Benenati added that the family's thoughts and prayers were also with Orlando police Officer Kevin Valencia, who suffered a gunshot injury before the standoff and is still in critical condition at the Orlando Regional Medical Center. The mother of the young victims, who is Puerto Rican, is currently staying at a hotel and is being supported by her family, according to Benenati. "These are good people, these are good folks. These are people who would bring a tres leches, a flan to your house, you know, 'Here's a cake to eat,'" Benenati said. Sara Au, a spokeswoman for Orange County Public Schools, said that three of the children killed in the standoff attended Sadler Elementary School. She added grief counselors are available for the school's community, despite being on summer break. Benenati said the mother is not willing to speak publicly at the moment, but he hoped the Orlando community could help expense funeral arrangements for her four children. He said although she doesn't plan to return to the home where the police standoff took place, he doesn't know exactly where she's planning to live. "These beautiful babies never hurt anyone," wrote Benenati in a public GoFundMe campaign page (https://www.gofundme.com/2dter2-funeral-expenses). Lindsey "was the father of two of the children and selfishly took the lives of these precious innocent angels and then took his own life," Benenati said. "It is a tragic ending to a night of horror."<doc-sep>ORLANDO, Fla. — Four children are dead following a hostage situation and a standoff with a suspect accused of shooting an Orlando police officer in the face. Nearly 24 hours after an Orlando police officer was shot in the face and four children were taken hostage, Orlando Police Chief John Mina told reporters that the gunman was dead, and all four children in the apartment died of "apparent gunshot wounds." Mina said they made contact with Gary Lindsey around 8:30 p.m. Monday night. While trying to give Lindsey a cell phone with better reception to communicate, the chief said one of his officers noticed a child in the home appeared to be dead. That is when Mina said they made the decision to try and save the other children. ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska heard a loud explosion just before 9:00 p.m. Monday night. Mina said that was the SWAT team going in to try and save the children. Officers found all four children, Iraya, age 11, Lillia, age 10, Aidan, age 6, and Dove, age 1, dead. Courtesy: Alberto Lopez Lindsey committed suicide inside a bedroom closet. It is not clear at this point how long the children were deceased inside the apartment. The standoff started around 11:45 p.m. Sunday night when an officer with the Orlando Police Department was shot while responding to a domestic violence call at the Westbrook Apartment complex near Universal. As officers approached Lindsey opened fire striking Ofc. Kevin Valencia. OPD @ChiefJohnMina: Our main concern right now is the children that are being held hostage in the apartment with suspect who shot and seriously wounded one of our officers responding to a domestic violence call. pic.twitter.com/Y8PwAq30Ic — Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2018 The officer was shot in the eye receiving a very serious injury which required surgery. Chief Mina stated during a news conference Monday morning, the officer was out of surgery and recovering. His condition was listed as critical. Orlando Police Chief John Mina provided more information on the incident during a press conference on Monday morning. Mina said Lindsey had previous arrests for domestic violence and arson. He was on felony probation at the time the standoff began. During a 3:00 p.m. news conference Monday, more than 14 hours after the standoff began, Mina told reporters he believed the children were still alive. Mina said a police crisis intervention team had been trying to talk Lindsey into surrendering peacefully. "Right now the suspect is barricaded in his apartment," Mina said at the time. "He has spoken with us a couple of times, but has hung up the phone on us a couple of times, too." The incident began when Lindsey's girlfriend contacted police to report that he had battered her, and she directed officers to an apartment in the Westbrook complex, Mina said. The mother met with police outside the complex, authorities said. Lindsey is the father of two of the children, and the other two belong to his girlfriend. Late Monday night members of the Orange County Sheriff's Office brought in floodlights and several portable toilets were dropped off. The chief said they did everything they could to make sure this ended peacefully with no children or Lindsey getting hurt. A GoFundme has been created to help with funeral expenses for the children. The GoFundme was created by a friend of the children's grandfather. "These beautiful babies never hurt anyone. Ciara lost her children Iraya, age 11, Lillia, age 10, Aidan, age 6, and beautiful little Dove, age 1-year-old. It is a tragic ending to a night of horror," the GoFundme reads. A separate GoFundme has been created to support Ofc. Valencia.<doc-sep>Image 1 of 3 ▼ A family representative who started a GoFund Me campaign to help cover funeral expenses of the four children killed by a felon while in a standoff with police says the mother is in a state of shock. Walter Benenati employs the father of the woman, whom police have not identified. Benenati says she also needs to cover expenses to move out of the apartment in Orlando, Florida, where the shootings happened. Benenati says the oldest hostage was 12-year-old Irayan. He says Irayan loved video games and was an overachiever at school. He says Lillia was a huge Disney fan and the 10-year-old enjoyed being with her friends. He says 6-year-old Aidan had a dinosaur obsession and 22-month-old Dove liked to run. The woman was the mother of all four children. The suspect, 35-year-old Gary Lindsey Jr., was the father of Aidan and Dove. Benenati says Lindsey committed "an unspeakable horror." Neighbors at the Westbrook Apartments returned to their homes, a day after the violent conclusion to the hours-long standoff between Lindsey and law enforcement. Orlando police officers were called to the complex on Sunday evening by Lindsey's girlfriend, because of a domestic dispute, authorities said. Upon arriving, the officers were fired upon. One of those officers, Kevin Valencia, was seriously injured and remains hospitalized. People who knew Lindsey and the children are left asking why this had to happen. Although they were able to return home, many said it will never be the same. “It’s very devastating,” Shantell Alexis said. Alexis said her kids knew the four child victims, whose lives were taken far too soon. “It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “Especially when you go to school together and see that the kids they grew up with are no longer going to be there.” Some learned the devastating news as they returned home to what they call a quiet neighborhood. “There’s no explanation for what happened that day,” Abdelhamid Dhhirni said. “It’s not human at all.” Those who lived close to the apartment where Lindsey barricaded himself inside with the four children were forced to evacuate as police handled hostage negotiations. Sadly none of them could be saved, according to Orlando Police Chief John Mina. A SWAT team found the children shot to death after the hours-long standoff. “As a parent, how could someone take their own kids life,” Alexis said. “You’re supposed to protect your children at all times.” Court record shows Lindsey has an extensive criminal history. He was a felon currently out on probation for arson and other charges, according to law enforcement. Lindsey was arrested in Volusia County and convicted of setting a fire in Orange City in 2008 following an argument with his girlfriend at the time. He was sentenced to 30 years supervision. According to court records, he violated probation and was arrested four more times in Volusia County and let out of jail each time. Officials in Florida say a medical examiner will determine at what point during a standoff the four children were killed. Authorities say two of the children are believed to be Lindsey's, while the other two are believed to be those of the girlfriend. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.<doc-sep>
Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT WITH A FAMILY FRIEND. AMANDA, HOW IS THE MOTHER DOING THIS EVENING? AMANDA: SHE IS STAYING AT A HOTEL AND SHE IS SURROUNDED BY LOVED ONES. WE LEARNED MORE ABOUT HER FOUR CHILDREN TODAY AND HOW MUCH THEY WILL BE MISSED BY EVERYONE WHO KNEW THEM. >> IT IS GRUELING, TO THINK THAT THESE CHILDREN LOST THEIR LIVES OVER POTENTIALLY NOTHING. AMANDA: A PHOTO SHOWS FOR SMILING SIBLINGS WHO BECAME VICTIMS TO A TRAGIC CRIME. GARY LINDSAY JR. TOOK THE CHILDREN HOSTAGE, KILL THEM, AND THEN TOOK HIS OWN LIFE. AN ATTORNEY KNOWS THE FAMILY. HE SAID THE CHILDREN WERE FULL OF LIFE. LINDSEY WAS THE FATHER OF THE TWO YOUNGEST AND WE ARE LEARNING MORE ABOUT HIS TROUBLED PAST. >> IN THE PAST, WE HAVE TRIED TO BAKER ACT HIM. THE SIGNS WERE THERE. IT IS HARD TO GET HELP FOR THESE PEOPLE. AMANDA: IN 2012 HE WAS ACCUSED OF ASSAULT. BUT THE CHILDREN’S MOTHER DROPPED THE CHARGES, SAYING IT WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING. >> SOMETIMES THING HAPPEN AND IT IS TOO LATE. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS WITH THE FAMILY IS GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW. AMANDA: THE FAMILY HAS ASKED FOR PRIVACY AT THIS TIME. THERE IS A GOFUNDME ACCOUNT ONLINE. Advertisement Gunman kills self, 4 children after Orlando standoff Share Shares Copy Link Copy A man who police say shot an officer before barricading himself in an Orlando 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 were ages 1, 6, 10 and 12, Mina said. Two of them were Lindsey’s children and two belonged to his girlfriend, who called police Sunday night. The children were identified as Irayan Lopez, 12; Lillia Lopez, 10; Aiden Lindsey, 6; and Dove Lindsey, 22 months.An attorney for the family released a photo of the children to WESH 2 News on Tuesday and has set up a GoFundMe page to help with expenses. Officers responding to a domestic violence report late Sunday at the Westbrook Apartments on Eaglesmere Drive, near South Kirkman Road were fired upon, police said. Officer Kevin Valencia was shot and was in critical condition but is expected to survive, Mina said Monday. One officer was able to return fire, the police chief said.Valencia is in his late 20s and has been with the police department since 2016, Mina said. He previously worked for the Doral Police Department. Court records show Lindsey, 35, had an extensive criminal history involving arson, battery and theft. He was on probation for several charges including arson. Judy Pepper, who lives in the apartment complex, told WESH 2 News that she had fallen asleep on the couch when she heard four loud gunshots.She looked out the window 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.Officers evacuated other residents of the complex in the middle of the night. Some were milling around nearby restaurant parking lots Monday morning, still wearing pajamas. They were later taken to a hotel. "One of our neighbors had to be taken out the window, they put up a ladder because it's across from the shooter's apartment," Pepper said.The standoff also disrupted the routines of residents who lived in neighboring apartment communities. About five blocks from the apartment, two police squad cars blocked the entrance to the street. Residents of the neighboring apartment complexes had to show identification and be escorted by the police. Several firetrucks lined the road.The Associated Press Contributed to this report