Tragedy Strikes Orlando with Two Separate Shootings in Pine Hills

On Wednesday, tragedy struck the Orlando area as two separate shootings occurred in the Pine Hills neighborhood. In the first incident, a woman in her 20s was found dead from a gunshot wound and her identity has not been released.^[0] Later in the day, while reporting on the homicide investigation, two members of the Spectrum News 13 team were shot in or near their vehicle.^[1]

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who was arrested while armed with a firearm.^[2] Sheriff John Mina said that Moses has a “lengthy criminal history” including gun charges, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grand theft.^[3] He does not appear to have any connections to the journalists or the mother and her daughter, the sheriff said.^[4]

The Spectrum News crew was comprised of Dylan Lyons, 24, the reporter who tragically lost his life, and photojournalist Jesse Walden who is critically injured and is still in the hospital.^[5]

In response to the shooting, Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum 13 News, released the following statement Wednesday night:^[6]

Our hearts are heavy with grief over the passing of our coworker and the other lives taken today. Our condolences go out to our employee's family, friends, and fellow workers in this trying time. We continue to hope for the full recovery of our other colleague who was wounded. This is a devastating loss for the Orlando community.^[7]

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also tweeted condolences, saying: “Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team.”^[8]

At a news conference on Wednesday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina declared, “Nobody in our community – not a mom, not a nine-year-old, and absolutely not a news reporter – should ever be a victim of gun violence.”^[9]

WESH reporter Luana Munoz added, “This is every reporter’s absolutely worst nightmare. We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur and that is what happened here.”^[10] FOX 35 is verifying more details and collecting extra data.^[4]

0. “BREAKING NEWS: A 9-year-old and News 13 Reporter are dead after a shooting in the Orlando area” FOX 4 News Fort Myers WFTX, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.fox4now.com/news/state/breaking-news-a-9-year-old-and-news-reporter-are-dead-after-a-shooting-in-orlando

1. “Charter Communications Releases Statement on Shootings of Two Journalists” Adweek, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/charter-communications-releases-statement-on-shootings-of-two-journalists/247089/

2. “Florida Journalist Shot And Killed While Reporting On Another Fatal Shooting” HuffPost, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/florida-journalist-killed-shooting-orlando_n_63f6bb37e4b04ff5b487dbf0

3. “Florida news crew shot while covering shooting near Orlando, 2 dead, including 9-year-old: police” Fox News, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-deputies-say-multiple-people-shot-near-orlando

4. “Keith Melvin Moses: What we know about suspect in deadly Pine Hills shooting” FOX 35 Orlando, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/keith-melvin-moses-what-we-know-about-suspect-in-deadly-orlando-mass-shooting

5. “Spectrum News 13 television employee among 3 killed in Central Florida shootings; suspect arrested” WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.wptv.com/news/state/channel-13-news-crew-member-killed-in-central-florida-while-covering-story

6. “Orlando journalist from Philadelphia identified as victim killed in Florida shooting spree” FOX 29 Philadelphia, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.fox29.com/news/orlando-journalist-dylan-lyons-philadelphia-identified-victim-pine-hills-shooting-spree

7. “Florida TV journalist and child shot dead at scene of earlier murder” BBC, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64740209

8. “Orlando-area journalist, child and woman killed in Central Florida shootings, deputies say” Miami Herald, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article272577786.html

9. “Timeline: What we know about shooting deaths of a News 13 journalist, 2 others in Pine Hills” WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/02/23/timeline-what-we-know-about-shooting-deaths-of-a-news-13-journalist-2-others-in-pine-hills/

10. “A 19-Year-Old Man Allegedly Killed A Woman, Then Returned To The Scene Hours Later And Shot Four Others, Including A 9-Year-Old Girl And A Journalist” BuzzFeed News, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/skbaer/journalist-child-killed-florida-shootings-orlando