Police have found and taken into custody a suspect who has been accused of killing a 9-year-old and a journalist while injuring two others.
Last Wednesday, Florida deputies responded to a call of a shooting in Orlando shortly after 4pm.
Authorities had already been investigating another murder, which took the life of 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin earlier that day.
When police arrived at the scene, they found two employees at Spectrum News 13 gunned down by bullets. One died, while the other was in critical condition. The reporter who died has been identified as Dylan Lyons.
“It is unclear if [the suspect] knew if they were news media or not,” Orange County Sheriff John Mina told WESH. “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.”
After shooting the media personnel, the suspect then went to a nearby home where he shot and killed 9-year-old T’yonna Major. The victim’s mother was also shot and is in critical condition.
“Our home was invaded by an armed gunman, who gunned down my 9 yr old daughter and shot my wife,” Mayor’s father, Tokiyo Major, wrote on a GoFundMe page created to assist with funeral expenses. “Senseless violence has taken the life of my little girl, T’Yonna Major. She was a light to everyone that knew her. She was everything to us. She was a great student at the top of her 3rd grade class and reading at a 5th grade level. She was outgoing as well as an amazing gymnast. As her teachers would say ‘The next Gabby Douglas.’”
The suspect has been identified as 19-year-old Keith Moses, 19, who is believed to have been the gunman involved in all of the shootings. Mina said that when he was arrested, his Glock handgun was still hot to the touch and there were no rounds inside.
A judge has denied Moses bond and it is still unclear what the motive was behind the killings.
“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and media partners,” Mina said.
