Hostage Drama ended with the death of four children

A hostage drama in Florida ended Monday with the death of four children at the hands of a gunman, who also took his own life, police said.
The ordeal began Sunday in Orlando when police responded to a report of domestic violence at an apartment and one of the officers was shot. That officer remains in critical condition.
The gunman remained holed up in the apartment overnight and all day Monday with the children, who were aged one, six, 10 and 11.
"A short time ago we made entry into the apartment and found that all four children have been killed by the suspect by apparent gunshot wounds," Orlando police chief John Mina told a news conference just before midnight.
"It appears the suspect took his own life as well," Mina added.
Police stayed in contact with the gunman throughout the day.
The gunman´s phone had sporadic service, and police tried to offer him one of their phones.
In doing so, officers saw the body of one child and decided to try to rescue the others. A big boom was heard at the complex at about 9:00 pm, the Orlando Sentinel newspaper reported.
It said the gunman has been identified as Gary Lindsey, 35, and that he was a felon on probation for arson and other offenses.
Two of the children were believed to be his and other two were of the woman who reported Lindsey for hitting her, the paper said.
That woman called police after fleeing the apartment Sunday night.
This is the dramatic moment terrified hostages ran for their lives after the siege at the Paris kosher deli ended with four other captives and the gunmen killed during the melee. 
The Islamic militant had taken people, including women and children, captive and was threatening to kill them if police attempted to storm the Charlie Hebdo terrorists who, at the time, were engaged in a similar standoff with police on the eastern outskirts of the city.
An Israeli government official said 15 hostages were rescued while French president Francois Hollande confirmed that four people were killed.
Today's hostage taker Amedy Coulibaly - who was killed in the raid - was also responsible for the fatal shooting of a policewoman yesterday. It has now been suggested this attack may have been an aborted attempt to attack a Jewish school.
One woman who visited the Kosher shop described its manager Michel Emsalem as a 'kind' and 'patient' man.
Latifa Benjamaa, 37, said: 'He is kind, nice and polite. He is not someone who cares about religion. I often went to shop there and I'm a Muslim,' she said.
While it remained unclear whether the manager was involved in the incident, she added: 'This has nothing to do with religion. You are not allowed to kill in my religion. These men had an objective. These people are not doing this for Allah.'
Mrs Benjamaa said she feared people would begin rioting in the street.
She said: 'Now they are going to be repercussions. There will be war on the streets. Everyone is going to fear everyone. Before, things were fine.' 
Earlier today, as news of the hostage situation broke, police ordered all shops in Paris' famed Jewish district to be immediately closed. 
The mayor's office in Paris announced the closures of shops along the Rosiers street in Paris' Marais neighbourhood, in the heart of the tourist district and about a kilometre away from the offices of newspaper Charlie Hebdo where 12 people were killed on Wednesday.
A 20-year-old student was among the hostages taken at the kosher shop in Paris. The young woman, whose name remains unknown, called her uncle who works nearby from the basement of the building where she was being held.
Earlier reports that there was a serious incident developing near the Trocadero in central Paris were incorrect - it remains open and running after what was a false alarm.
The siege at the grocery store occurred after the Charlie Hebdo killers in Dammartin-en-Goele found themselves holed up with a hostage at a business premises further north - and were believed to have made contact with an associate.
Police immediately scrambled phone signals in the area – but not before the killers were able to make their call.
It was feared that Said Kouachi and his brother Cheriff contacted Amedy Coulibaly – and possibly ordered him to take hostages in a bid to force police to allow them to escape.As the two sieges by suspected Islamic terrorists today played out at the same time, fears grew that the jihadis were looking to cause another bloodbath.
Clarissa Jean-Philippe, 27, was unarmed and directing traffic in Montrouge, in south Paris, when she was gunned down by Coulibay on Thursday.

A 20-YEAR-OLD STUDENT HOSTAGE: 'SHE WAS SHOPPING AT THE TIME'

A 20-year-old student was among the hostages taken at the kosher shop in Paris.
The young woman, whose name remains unknown, called her uncle who works nearby from the basement of the building where she was being held.
Jean-Marc Sellam, the business partner of her uncle Patrick Tuile told MailOnline that she had called her uncle 'panicked'.
He said: 'The niece of my associate was taken hostage. I think there were five people taken.
'His niece is about 20 years old. She was shopping at the time. She was allowed to speak to her uncle on the phone. She said she was scared and panicked. Police have now let her uncle go to the scene.'
Mr Sellam added: 'I am shocked. I have been for 48 hours. As long as they keep letting these barbaric people come back from Syria it will keep happening.'
The woman taken hostage was Jewish.
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