A local television journalist and a 9-year-old girl were fatally shot in a Florida neighborhood near the scene of a homicide that had taken place just hours earlier, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said on Wednesday.
Another reporter was being treated at a local hospital after being shot by the same man at the scene in Orlando, Sheriff John Mina said at an evening press conference. Another victim—the girl’s mother—was “fighting for her life” in critical condition on Wednesday night, according to the sheriff.
The journalists, both men, were identified as a reporter and photographer with Spectrum News 13 out of Orlando. None of the victims’ names were immediately shared.
A 19-year-old man, Keith Melvin Moses, was detained in connection with the 4 p.m. shooting. “He has a lengthy criminal history,” Mina said, which includes “gun charges, aggravated battery, and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grand theft charges.”
On Wednesday night, Moses had been charged with just one murder—that of the victim from the earlier homicide, an 11 a.m. shooting that left a woman in her 20s dead at the scene.
“Mr. Moses is responsible for all those shootings,” Mina said. “We expect charges soon on all of the other victims.”
The reporters were shot in their vehicle, Mina said. The suspect then moved to a house about a block away, where he shot the mother and daughter inside. Why he entered the home was not immediately clear, and neither was his connection to the victims, if any, according to the sheriff.
“It’s hard to know if he was targeting this news crew,” he said. “Again, that’ll all be part of our investigation.”
In a since-deleted tweet, WFTV reporter Nick Papantonis described how the gunman “walked by our crew who was working in their car. Our crew ducked.” He continued: “The man then walked up to the other crew working in their car and opened fire.”
Members of WFTV’s crew rendered aid to at least one of the victims before emergency personnel arrived on the scene, according to Sabrina Maggiore, another journalist with the channel.
“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and media partners,” Mina said.
“I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the very difficult job that you do…” he continued. “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 communities.”
As the evening went on, News 13 journalists grieved the loss of their colleague even as they continued to report on the shooting.
“Life is fragile,” anchor Greg Angel tweeted. “We were just talking to our colleagues – friends – this afternoon. Life was normal.”
“And now, life is not normal.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed condolences in an evening tweet, writing, “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.”
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today,” Spectrum News 13’s parent company, Charter Communications, said in a statement. “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.”
