A central Florida television journalist and a young girl were shot and killed Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference Wednesday evening that they’ve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, and┬аbelieve he is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighbourhood.
Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the nine-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girl’s mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital.
“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 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 тАФ not a mother, not a nine-year-old and certainly not news professionals тАФ should become the victim of gun violence in our community.”
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Breaking?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Breaking</a> тАФ A Spectrum News 13 reporter and photographer were shot at the scene of a homicide investigation. One has died, according to the sheriff. <a href=”https://t.co/xMCKBfUlO1″>https://t.co/xMCKBfUlO1</a>
—@MyNews13
Motive not clear
Mina said they don’t immediately have a motive for any of the shootings.
“The suspect is not saying much right now,” Mina said. “It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. We’re still trying to work all that out.”
He said the News 13 vehicle did not look like a typical news van with TV station markings.
Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot.
Moses “was an acquaintance of the woman [shot] this morning, but as far as we know, had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the nine-year-old,” Mina said.
According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire and then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter.
Mina said Moses is already facing a murder charge for the initial victim, and charges are expected soon for the other four victims. His criminal history includes gun charges, as well as aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offences, the sheriff said.
“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,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter.
Spectrum News 13 was not identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV station’s website.
“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 in this country,” Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer said during her live on-air report.
