The first day of school is a big day for anyone. Sadly for one young boy, his father couldn’t be there to wish him luck.
Orlando Police Officer Kevin Valencia was shot and critically injured after responding to a domestic violence incident.
The father of two remains in a coma two months after the shooting, and was not conscious to see his five-year-old son Kaleb walk through the school gates for the first time.
Fortunately, Officer Valencia’s fellow officers stepped in to make sure Kaleb felt his father’s presence on his first day of kindergarten.
Showing outstanding compassion for their injured colleague’s family, the squad turned up to Kaleb’s first day at school, escorting him to his new classroom and giving him encouraging high-fives.
Sharing emotional footage of the day on Facebook, the officers wrote:
Two months ago today, Officer Kevin Valencia was shot in the line of duty and remains in a coma.
Today, his son Kaleb started kindergarten. Since his daddy couldn’t be there, Kevin’s Squad & Chief John Mina escorted Kaleb to his first day of school.
The video has since since been viewed nearly 4,000 times, with many commenters commending the officers for going above and beyond on such a difficult day.
One person said this caring gesture was ‘the sweetest thing they can do’, while another described this as an ‘awesome display of brotherhood.’
Officer Valencia’s family have established a GoFundMe page to raise money for his recovery.
According to this page:
Orlando Police Officer Kevin Valencia was shot in the head while responding to a domestic violence call for service. As other members of his squad were rescuing him, the armed suspect then barricaded himself in the apartment with 4 young children. The subsequent standoff lasted 24 hours and resulted in the suspect killing the children and himself.
Kevin was rushed to the Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition and remains in Intensive Care surrounded by his family and friends and Law Enforcement Officers everywhere.
Kevin and his wife have two small children ages 5 and 8mo. Donations will help the family with short term and long term expenses while he fights to recover from these devastating injuries.
So far the page has raised $171,459 of the $200,000 target, with plenty of people leaving messages of respect and gratitude for the brave officer and his loved ones.
Officer Valencia’s wife Meghan has recently written on the page to express her grattitude for the support the family have so far received:
I am overwhelmed with gratitude at the support my husband is receiving,
I could not have imagined so many people gathering to help a wounded hero! I cannot thank you enough for the continued donations to help the long road ahead in what I KNOW will be my husbands healing process! Thank you so much from the bottom our hearts, thank you!
You can donate to Officer Valencia’s GoFundMe page here
UNILAD wishes Officer Kevin Valencia a full recovery.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.