A journalist, a 9-year-old girl and a woman were fatally shot Wednesday in a string of shootings that left two others injured in the Orlando area. A suspect has been arrested.
Authorities on Thursday morning identified the victims as T'yonna Major, 9, journalist Dylan Lyons, 24, and Nathacha Augustin, 38, according to a tweet from the Orange County Sherriff's Office on Thursday.
The girl's mother and a photojournalist also were injured in the shooting in Pine Hills, a subdivision just northwest of Orlando, Florida.
Lyons worked as a reporter for Spectrum News 13. Lyons was killed after a suspect in an earlier shooting returned to the scene of the crime and opened fire on him and photojournalist Jesse Walden. Walden was critically injured, according to Spectrum News 13.
Family members and colleagues at the Orlando-based outlet remembered Lyons as a passionate journalist who served his community.
"He took his job very seriously. He loved his career. He loved what he did," said Josh Miller, a Spectrum Sports 360 reporter and friend, in an obituary published by the news outlet. "He loved the community, telling the stories of people, reporting on the news, and he was just passionate about what he did."
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Who is the suspect?
On Wednesday morning, Orange County deputies responded to reports of a woman who was shot in Pine Hills. The woman was an acquaintance of the suspect and was killed inside a vehicle, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Wednesday.
Detectives identified Keith Melvin Moses, 19, as the suspect as the other shootings unfolded.
"Once they did detain him, homicide detectives who were familiar with him from the previous case said, 'Yeah, that’s our same guy from the earlier homicide,'" Mina said.
Mina said Moses has a "lengthy criminal history," including gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grand theft charges.
Moses was arrested Wednesday and formally charged with murder in the first incident. Authorities expect to charge Moses for the additional shooting of the four people.
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What happened in the later shootings involving journalist and 9-year-old?
Around 4 p.m. Wednesday, the suspect returned to the scene and approached a Spectrum News 13 vehicle as a news crew reported on the shooting earlier that morning, Mina said.
The gunman opened fire while Lyons and Walden were in or near the vehicle, then walked to a nearby home, where he shot T'yonna and her mother, witnesses said.
Lyons and T'yonna died from their injuries. Walden and the girl's mother were hospitalized Wednesday in critical condition.
Mina said the News 13 vehicle did not look like a typical news van with TV station markings, the Associated Press reported.
What we know reporter Dylan Lyons
Lyons was born and raised in Philadelphia but made central Florida "his home" when he attended University of Central Florida, according to an obituary published by Spectrum News. He moved to Gainesville to follow his dream of anchoring and reporting the news, motivated by "his desire to tell stories that impact local communities," according to his bio.
"When he was out of the news station, he was still talking about how much he wanted to succeed at his job, talking about how much he loved Orlando," said Miller, a Spectrum Sports 360 reporter and friend of Lyons.
Lyons was "very close" to his mom and family, and "loved his girlfriend dearly," according to the obituary.
"The amount of people that will miss him, I'm sure, I can't even come to fathom how many," Miller said.
Tributes from loved ones and colleagues poured in on social media. Casey Lynn, a woman identifying herself as Lyons’ fiancée, said "the love of my life was murdered" in a heartbreaking Twitter post. Lyons's Twitter account had previously linked to Lynn's account with heart emojis.
"I will never be the same person ever again," she said in the tweet.
During an on-air report, Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer urged for the public's support.
"Please, please, say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition," Springer said. "And while you’re at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country,"
What was the motive?
Detectives did not immediately have a motive for any of the shootings. Mina said authorities have not previously seen violence against media in the area, but they are investigating.
"But certainly we have seen (violence against media) around the nation and around the world," Mina said. "So that's something we're definitely going to be taking a look at and see if we can put the pieces together and see why this happened."
'Another tragic reminder'
Around the world, 40 journalists were reported killed last year, plus another two this year before Wednesday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Only one of those was in the United States.
- Jeff German, who covered politics and corruption for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead in September after being stabbed multiple times. Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, who had been a frequent subject of German’s reporting, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.
- In 2015, Virginia reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed during their live TV broadcast for CBS affiliate WDBJ7. The suspect, a former reporter for the TV station, died by suicide during the law enforcement search for him.
White House responds to shooting of journalist
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed her condolences on Twitter.
"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,” Jean-Pierre tweeted.
The National Press Club said it was "horrified" by the shooting and urged reporters to take extra precautions in a Wednesday statement.
"This is another tragic reminder that journalism is a dangerous business and that criminals and those that are the subject of reporting can become violent toward reporters who are doing their jobs," the organization said. "We call on those who use hateful rhetoric against journalists online to carefully consider the consequences of their actions."
Contributing: The Associated Press
Contact Christine Fernando at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
