A television news reporter and a 9-year-old girl in Florida are dead and several more people are fighting for their lives after a horrific murder spree in an Orlando neighborhood.
On Wednesday afternoon, multiple television journalists from Orlando-area news stations descended on the Pine Hills area northwest of the city. They were there to cover the murder of a woman in her early 20s, according to reports.
But at about 4:00 p.m. local time, a second tragedy struck. Two journalists working for Orlando’s Spectrum News 13 were preparing for a report on the incident when a gunman rushed up and shot them as they sat in their work van. The gunman then fled from the scene of the van and went to a nearby home. There, police say, he shot a mother and her 9-year-old daughter.
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Cops were already nearby processing the first murder from earlier in the day. So, they rushed in as the gunman was in the middle of his spree and were able to detain him. Sadly, one of the journalists in the van and the 9-year-old girl in the home both died at the scene. The child’s mother and the other television news reporter were rushed to the hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds. As of late Wednesday night, they continue to fight for their lives following the sickening shooting.
Upon his arrest, cops identified the alleged shooter as 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses (pictured above, left). They have not released the identity of the first young adult woman killed at the scene. They have also not revealed the name of the 9-year-old girl who was murdered, or her mother who was shot and severely wounded.
However, by early Thursday morning, Spectrum News 13 confirmed the identities of their journalists who fell victim to this heartbreaking attack. A reporter at the station, 24-year-old Dylan Lyons (pictured above, right), was identified as the man killed in the shooting. Per Fox News, Lyons’ family initially revealed his identity late on Wednesday night.
One of the station’s photographers, Jesse Walden, was also “critically injured” in the shooting and rushed to the hospital. In a press release, the outlet called it “a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community,” and went on to add:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today. Our thoughts are with our employee’s family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery.”
After the multiple murders on Wednesday, the Orange County Sherriff’s Office held a press conference outlining the timeline of the tragedy. It all began around 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, when the first woman was shot and killed in a car in that neighborhood.
Cops rushed to the scene and began to investigate. According to Orange County Sheriff John Mina, officers “conducted follow-up, collected evidence, and developed good leads” on the suspect. But before they could track him down, he struck again. News crews from several stations rolled into the neighborhood to cover the shooting by early afternoon. There were multiple crews on scene at 4:00 p.m. when Moses reportedly returned to the area to commit his second heinous act.
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According to Mina, Moses had no connection to the Spectrum News 13 team that was shot. The sheriff also said officers “don’t know why” the alleged gunman entered the other home in Pine Hills and shot the mother and daughter, either. However, Mina is confident Moses is the person responsible for all three shootings. He asserted the teenager is “solely responsible” for the tragedy and confirmed cops had already formally charged him after his arrest on Wednesday afternoon.
Mina also reported Moses was allegedly in possession of a handgun when he was arrested. Cops are hopeful that gun will definitively connect him to the shootings. Per Mina, Moses has “a lengthy criminal history to include gun charges, aggravated assault, burglary, and grand theft charges.” In his news conference, the sheriff continued:
“What a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners. No one in our community — not a mother, not a 9-year-old, certainly not news professionals — should become the victim of gun violence in our community. … We really don’t know what was in the mind of this suspect. Hopefully at some point that he’ll talk to us about what his motives were.”
Here is more on the shooting, its aftermath, and the ongoing police investigation:
So, so awful.
We send our condolences to Lyons’ family, friends, and loved ones, as well as those of the little girl and other woman killed in the shooting — and we hope the two seriously wounded victims can make full recoveries.
[Image via Dylan Lyons/Twitter/Orange County Sheriff’s Office/Fox 13 Tampa Bay/YouTube]