Orlando shooting – live: Suspect pretended to be asleep during police interview, sheriff says

Shooter returned to scene and killed Spectrum News 13 reporter covering earlier homicide as well as young girl before being taken into custody

Orlando shooting: Gunman kills three, including journalist and nine-year-old, sheriff says

A 19-year-old gunman accused of killing a nine-year-old girl and a local journalist reporting on his earlier homicide in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday had a “lengthy” criminal record, local authorities have said.

A 20-year-old woman had been shot dead earlier on Wednesday, prompting a crew from a local news channel reaching the spot in the Pine Hills area to cover the incident on the same day, where a journalist and a videographer was shot when the suspect returned to the scene.

Sheriff John Mina said during a press conference on Thursday that the suspect Keith Melvin Moses pretended to be asleep during an interview with police.

He added that he was taken to hospital after saying that he was unable to breathe. There, he fought with medical staff and had to be restrained. He then also become physical with detectives and had to be restrained again, the sheriff said.

Sheriff Mina said it was a “random act of violence” and that the Sheriff’s office is still working to establish why the shooting take place.

“This was not gang-related,” he added.

Key Points

• Sheriff says it’s ‘unclear’ if suspects new victims were journalists
• ‘He loved his career. He loved what he did'
• ‘This is extremely devastating for all of us’: Colleague of slain journalist speaks out
• Colleagues pay tribute to slain reporter
• Recap: TV journalist and girl, nine, shot dead at scene of previous homicide in Florida

[23 February 2023 09:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

‘Please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence’, Spectrum 13 reporter urges

A reporter for Spectrum News 13 urged the audience live on air to “say a prayer for our co-worker” after the Orlando shootings.

A journalist working for the news channel, who was reporting from the scene of an earlier homicide, was shot and killed by the suspected gunman while a photographer employed by the organisation is in critical conditionSpectrum News 13has not identified the crew members, according to a story on the TV station’s website.

“This is extremely devastating for all of us. But I am proud to have such an amazing team backing all of us,” Spectrum News 13journalist Celeste Springer said live on air.

“Please, please say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition. And while you’re at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence.”

[23 February 2023 10:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

ICYMI: Orlando shooting suspect has ‘lengthy’ criminal history, sheriff says

Keith Melvin Moses, a 19-year-old identified as a suspect in the Orlando shooting that killed three, including a nine-year-old, has a “lengthy” criminal history, according to Orange County sheriff John Mina.

The sheriff listed out the charges against Mr Moses, including gun charges, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges.“It is unclear if [the suspect] knew if they were news media or not,” Mr Mina said.

“We’re still trying to work all of that out. That vehicle was almost exactly in the same spot as the vehicle from the homicide this morning. So it’s unclear why exactly they were targeted.”

“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Mr Mina said.

“I work closely with all of you... no one in our community — not a mother, not a 9-year-old, certainly not news professionals — should become the victim of gun violence.”

The alleged gunman knew the homicide victim from earlier in the day, according to media reports.

It’s unclear why the other victims were shot at.

[23 February 2023 11:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

ICYMI: White House expresses condolences over Orlando shooting

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has tweeted her condolences to the families of the victims of the Orlando shootings.

The alleged gunman had opened fire on the crew of news channel Spectrum News 13, killing a local journalist and a photographer who were employed by the organisation.

“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 13 team,” she tweeted.

[23 February 2023 11:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Journalist killed in Orlando shooting named as Dylan Lyons

The reporter shot dead yesterday has been named by his employer as Dylan Lyons, 24, originally from Philadelphia before moving to central Florida to pursue his career in broadcasting.

Spectrum News 13 has written an extensive tribute piece to him you can read here.

[23 February 2023 12:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

ICYMI: Reporter breaks down over killing of TV journalist

Tearfully reporting on the loss of one of the TV journalists that lost their life in the Orlando shooting yesterday, a journalist from another channel said that it was “every reporter’s absolutely worst nightmare”.

In a video that has since been widely shared, she says: “We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur and that is what happened here.”

A nine-year-old girl and a local TV journalist were among the two people who were shot and killed after an earlier homicide in Orlando on Wednesday.

[23 February 2023 13:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

Recap: TV journalist and girl, nine, shot dead at scene of previous homicide in Florida

Four people were shot, two of them fatally, at a homicide crime scene outside of Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, according to police.

The victims included a nine-year-old girl and an Orlando-based TV journalist who was producing a story about a woman who was found shot dead at the location in Pine Hills earlier in the day.

“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Read the full story by Josh Marcus here:

[23 February 2023 14:00 · Megan Sheets]

Colleagues pay tribute to slain reporter

Here’s what the grieving Spectrum News 13 staff have had to say about their late co-worker Dylan Lyons in the wake of having to announce his tragic killing.

[23 February 2023 14:30 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

TV journalist breaks down on camera reporting on death of fellow reporter in Orlando mass shooting

A TV reporter in Orlando, Florida, where three people were fatally shot by a 19-year-old gunman on Wednesday, broke down on camera while reporting the death of her fellow journalist.

Emmy award-winning journalist Luana Munoz, who works with WESH News in Orlando, could barely keep it together while giving a piece to the camera late on Wednesday.

Munoz began with a shaky voice: “This is really difficult to cover. It is very emotional here at ORMC (Orlando Regional Medical Center).”

A nine-year-old girl and a Spectrum News 13 journalist were among the two people who were shot and killed after an earlier homicide in Orlando, according to Orange County sheriff John Mina.

A 20-year-old woman had been shot dead earlier on Wednesday, leading to a crew from the local news channel reaching the spot at the Pine Hills area to cover the incident on the same day.

[23 February 2023 15:00 · AP]

Florida TV reporter killed while covering a fatal shooting

A Florida television station identified Thursday a 24-year-old reporter who was fatally shot while covering a shooting death in an Orlando area neighborhood, as well as its photojournalist who was critically injured in the rampage.

Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons and photojournalist Jesse Walden were in their unmarked news vehicle on Wednesday afternoon when a man approached and shot them, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said in a news conference. The man then went to a nearby home where he fatally shot a 9-year-old girl and critically injured her mother.

The sheriff said they’ve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings.

“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Mina told a room full of reporters. “I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement. No one in our community — not a mother, not a 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals — should become the victim of gun violence in our community.”

Mina said they don’t immediately have a motive for any of the shootings.

[23 February 2023 15:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

‘This is extremely devastating for all of us’: Colleague of slain journalist speaks out

A Florida TV reporter shot dead while covering an earlier homicide in Pine Hills, Orlando, on Wednesday afternoon has been named by his employer as Dylan Lyons.

The 24-year-old journalist was killed when the suspected gunman – since apprehended, charged with murder and named as Keith Melvin Moses, 19 – returned to the scene of the earlier killing and fired into the Spectrum News 13 van, shooting Lyons dead and leaving photographer Jesse Walden with critical injuries.

The suspect then entered a nearby house and shot a mother and daughter, killing the nine-year-old and leaving the parent injured.

“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Orange County sheriff John Mina said during a press conference on Wednesday evening.

Celeste Springer, a colleague of Lyons, bravely spoke on air just hours after the tragedy and said: “This is extremely devastating for all of us. But I am proud to have such an amazing team backing all of us.