KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Police said they have identified local victims linked to a child porn suspect who shot and killed himself in front of his kids in Kissimmee.
Police said those children were in the car with the suspect just moments before he shot and killed himself.
Kissimmee police said they were looking for Luis Valentin, 48, to arrest him on child porn charges.
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Police said Valentin was cooperating and they had no reason to believe he would hurt himself.
They said he even waved at them and pointed to the parking lot, where he eventually pulled over.
But when officers walked up to his car, they found he was pointing a gun at his head.
Officers said they only had a few seconds to get the kids out of the back seat and the officer who grabbed them risked his own safety in the process.
“To understand what happened in this Kissimmee parking lot around 6:30 last night, you have to go back a few days,” Kissimmee police Deputy Chief Daniel Schad said.
Kissimmee police said they received a tip Tuesday afternoon about a possible case of child pornography.
By Wednesday morning, detectives said they had enough probable cause to arrest Valentin.
"They were actively looking for Luis Valentin to speak with him and place him under arrest for a group of charges," Schad said.
Officers said they spotted Valentin’s car driving on John Young Parkway and activated their lights and sirens in an unmarked car.
"Mr. Valentin actually waved to the officers, pointing over to what parking lot he was going to pull over at,” Schad said.
One of those officers came up on Valentin's driver's side and the other approached his passenger side.
“There were two children in the back seat, and as they got to the front window, they saw Mr. Valentin with a handgun in his right hand, pointing it to his head," Schad said.
Police said one officer opened the back passenger side door and pulled the children out as the other officer backed away from the car.
That's when Valentin shot himself in the chest, officers said.
"That's chilling right there," said resident John Martinez. "It's sad to see something like that happen, you know."
Officials said no one else was injured.
Ana Valentin told Channel 9 that she's the ex-wife of the suspect and was on the scene when he took his own life.
"He always said that before he would be in jail that he would kill himself," Ana Valentin said.
Police said his children were in his custody legally and they were turned over to the mother at the police station shortly after.
While Luis Valentin is dead, police said the investigation to identify more victims of child pornography is just beginning.
Officers said there are some local victims that police have identified and they believe there are more out there.
Investigators are trying to determine if any are out of state.
A Kissimmee police cruiser was seen upside down in the roadway near the shooting.
Officials said the officer was able to walk away from the damaged police cruiser and is not injured.
Officers said they are actively investigating this shooting and no other information was released.
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