(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images,)
OAN Geraldyn Berry
11:36 AM PT – Thursday, February 23, 2023
Dylan Lyons has been identified as the journalist who was fatally shot while covering a shooting incident in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday.
We are grieving with our media partners at @MyNews13 over the tragic loss of Dylan Lyons, shot and killed while reporting from a homicide scene. @SheriffMina: “No one in our community, not a 9 year old child or a media professional should become of victim of gun violence.” pic.twitter.com/ZfQznTwvRt
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023
The TV station’s parent company, Charter Communications, issued a statement describing the incident as “a tragic tragedy for the Orlando community.”
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today,” the company said. “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.”
Lyons had been the member of Spectrum News 13 that covered the Wednesday morning shooting of a woman in her 20s from the Pine Hills community.
This is 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, the suspect in a series of shootings today that left three dead, in OCSO custody. This is a sad day for our community. Three were murdered today, including a woman in her 20s, a 9-year-old girl and a @MyNews13 employee. pic.twitter.com/DXXkxzRHl5
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023
The 24-year-old was killed when the shooting suspect, 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, returned to the crime scene and opened fire which hit two reporters. Spectrum News 13 has since identified the individuals as Lyons and photojournalist Jesse Walden, who is reportedly in critical condition.
The suspect then walked to a nearby home and shot a woman and her 9-year-old daughter, T’yonna Major.
As of Wednesday night, the mother, who was not named, remained in critical condition. On Thursday, the daughter died of her injuries.
Upon the announcement of the reporter’s passing, Spectrum 13 had maintained its live coverage.
In a news conference, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said that Lyons and Walden’s vehicle was not obviously identifiable as a normal news van, and so it is unclear whether the shooter was aware that they were journalists.
According to authorities, Moses “has a lengthy criminal history, to include gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges.” He is described as an “acquaintance” of the woman he shot in the morning, “but as far as we know, he had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the nine-year-old.”
The suspect was detained nearby and charged in connection with the first murder. Moses would later face charges related to the other four shootings.
Police have not yet established a motive.
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