Pine Hills shooting: Dylan Lyons, Spectrum News 13 reporter shot dead at the hands of Keith Melvin Moses, Florida career criminal. Gunman also killed 20 year old woman, 9 year old girl along with injuring her mother and critically injuring photojournalist, Jesse Walden. No known motive.
A 19-year-old ‘career criminal’ faces murder charges in the shooting deaths of an Orlando TV journalist, a 9-year-old girl, and a woman who were all killed during the course of the day in Pine Hills, Florida. The string of shootings also led to a second journalist, and the 9 year old girl’s mother being injured.
Keith Melvin Moses was identified as the suspect who killed Spectrum News 13 reporter, Dylan Lyons, 24, along with critically injuring his colleague, photojournalist, Jesse Walden, while they were broadcasting about a local homicide that had occurred at the same location five hours earlier.
Both men were shot while inside an unmarked vehicle.
Moments after the two reporters was gunned down, a nine-year-old girl and her mother were allegedly also shot by the same suspect inside a nearby residence. The 9 year old did not survive the Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced in a release.
Casey Lynn, responding to the death of her fiance, posted on social media: ‘The love of my life was murdered. I will never be the same again.’
No known motive
According to Spectrum News 13, Lyons, a Philadelphia native is a graduate of the University of Central Florida. He joined the news station in July 2022.
‘A dedicated and motivated reporter, Dylan was shot and killed while working at the scene of a homicide. Spectrum News remembers our fallen colleague,’ the news station tweeted on Thursday.
The deaths came hours after a 20 year old woman was found shot dead in Orange County, Wednesday morning just on 11.17am. Deputies said the victim was inside a car when she was shot. Authorities identified Keith Melvin Moses as the suspect in the woman’s death along with the other two fatalities later that day.
Lyons and his colleague ironically were shot at while covering the shooting death of the 20 year old female victim. Following the gunman shooting at the reporters, killing one of them, the suspect gunned down a mother and her 9 year old daughter inside their home.
To date authorities have not said what led to Moses targeting the 20 year old woman earlier that day, along with the other fatalities and injured victims in the Pine Hills area.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina told reporters that Moses was ‘an acquaintance’ of the woman who was shot and killed Wednesday morning. He also does not appear to have any connections to the journalists or the mom and her daughter, Sheriff Mina said.
‘The suspect is not saying much right now,’ Sheriff Mina said. ‘It’s hard to know if he was targeting this news crew. Again, that will all be a part of our investigation. I was out at the scene and the vehicle doesn’t really look like a news vehicle to me, but then again, there was a photographer there so that’s possible.’
Lengthy criminal rap
Moses returned to the neighborhood around 4 p.m. when local media outlets were preparing for live reports on the morning homicide on Hialeah St. for their early evening newscasts, he said.
‘He returns to the scene. He goes to the vehicle where the news media people are at, he shoots both the people from News 13,’ the sheriff said.
Sheriff Mina said Moses was located in the area and detained shortly after the second and third shootings. Deputies said he was armed with a handgun at the time of his arrest.
Sheriff Mina told of Moses being known to police for other cases.
‘At 19, he has a lengthy criminal history to include gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grand theft charges,’ Mina said.
A search of online court records shows Moses being arrested in November 2021 on charges of possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia. However, those charges were dropped the following month. It’s unclear if Moses had a juvenile record, as those cases are not typically public.
