A 9-year-old child, an Orlando journalist, and two others were shot in the Pine Hills community in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday afternoon. According to CNN, the local news station sent a crew to the scene of a deadly shooting that had happened earlier in the day, when bullets started flying again. Two news organization journalists from Spectrum News 13 were struck by the bullets. One journalist was fatally wounded and the other was critically wounded. The reporter who died has been identified as Dylan Lyons.
Authorities reported that shortly after firing at the two journalists, the gunman walked to a nearby home a block away, and shot a mother and daughter. The 9-year-old girl, who has been identified as T’yonna Major, died of her injuries. Her mother was also shot and she is in critical condition. Authorities have not released the identities of the surviving victims.
The suspect has been identified.
The suspect is 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses. According to People, the sheriff has confirmed all the shootings are connected. Moses was formally charged with the first shooting on Wednesday at around 11 a.m. In that shooting, a woman in her 20s was shot as she sat in a car. Moses is expected to be charged in the second set of shootings as well. Police say Moses had a handgun in his possession at the time of his arrest.
Authorities don’t know if Moses has any connection to the mother and daughter, or any of the other victims. The sheriff did say the suspect has a “lengthy criminal history to include gun charges, aggravated assault, burglary, and grand theft charges.”
The local news organization is not the only one to have been attacked.
In 2018, it was the Capital Gazette. In 2015, it was WDBJ-TV. Sadly in February 2023, it is Spectrum News 13, the Charter Communications-owned cable news outlet in Florida.
According to CNN, a statement was released by Charter Communications that said it was “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. This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community," the statement continued
The Orlando shooting has sparked new calls for gun control.
US Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Democrat from Orlando, pointed to this shooting as part of the “vicious cycle of gun violence in this country.”
As WESH 2 reported, Frost said: “We need our leaders to step up, be bold, be courageous. Pass things like universal background checks most people are for. Pass sweeping gun laws so we can save lives and protect people. This is unacceptable. This cannot be the new normal in this country where we lose 100 lives a day. It's not fair that a 9-year-old was gunned down in our community. It's not fair that someone doing their job to help inform us of what's going on was shot down for no reason. That's not fair."
Community leaders are planning a gathering to address the shooting.
Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings is scheduled to meet with other community leaders, including the African American Council of Christian Clergy, on Thursday afternoon to discuss the shooting.
