Child porn suspect shoots himself dead in front of his children after he was stopped by police
A suspect in a federal child pornography case is confirmed to have killed himself during a traffic stop. Forty-eight-year-old Luis Valentin shot and killed himself on Wednesday, April 3, after authorities in Kissimmee, Florida, recognized him and pulled him over.
According to WFTV, the Kissimmee Police Department had received a tip on Tuesday about a possible case of child pornography against Valentin. By the next morning, detectives had already managed to gather enough evidence against him and had probable cause to arrest him.
Department Deputy Chief Chad Schad said their officers were actively looking for Valentin to speak with him and place him under arrest for a "group of charges." They succeeded when officers in an unmarked car spotted his car driving on John Young Parkway and activated their lights.
They said, after they stopped him, he had been cooperating and gave no indication that he would hurt himself. They said he even waved at them and pointed to a parking lot, where he eventually pulled over.
However, when deputies walked up to his car — one officer walked to Valentin's side and the other on the passenger side — they found the 48-year-old pointing a gun to his head.
They saw that his two children, aged seven and 11-years-old, were with him, and knew they only had a few seconds to grab them out of the back seat.
"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 revealed. One of the officers then opened the back passenger door and pulled the children out as the other slowly backed away from the vehicle. As soon as the children had been removed, Valentin shot himself in the chest.
In a freak accident related to the incident, a Kissimmee Police cruiser that was also originally on its way to apprehend Valentin turned upside down in the roadway after a mishap. Officials said the officer was able to walk away from the damaged cruiser unscathed.
Anna Valentin, who claimed to be the 48-year-old's ex-wife, was also on the scene when he took his life. She said him committing suicide if he had been caught was something he had planned.
"He always said that before he would be in jail that he would kill himself," she said.
The children were reportedly in his custody legally and were turned over to the mother at the police station. The police have said that they are still actively investigating Valentin's shooting and that they are working to identify further victims of child pornography.