Florida Shooting Spree Kills 9-Year-Old Girl, 2 News Crew While Covering Report

Three individuals died, and two more were injured in shootings in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, according to the authorities. Among the victims were a 9-year-old girl and a local TV news crew member.

At a news conference, Sheriff John Mina of Orange County announced that 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses had been taken into custody for the shootings.

Florida Shooting Spree Leaves 3 Dead

According to Mina, Moses allegedly shot and killed a lady in her twenties on Wednesday morning. Later that day, police were alerted to two more gunshots near the scene. Mina said Moses was formally charged with the morning's murder, and investigators anticipate additional charges for the afternoon's four shootings.

He added that a 9-year-old girl and her mother were shot at one residence, and adjacent, at a different scene, reporters from Spectrum News 13 who were covering the first shooting were shot close to their vehicle.

Per CBS News, when deputies arrived at a shooting at 11 a.m. local time, they found a lady in her 20s who had been fatally shot, according to Mina. According to Mina, Moses knew that victim. Later, soon after 4 o'clock, deputies got a call about two more shootings that had happened close to one another.

Deputies discovered a reporter and photographer from Spectrum News 13 shot in or close to their reporting van in one place where they had been covering an earlier-that-morning homicide. According to Mina, it's unknown why the Spectrum News 13 team was targeted or even if the suspect knew they worked in the media.

One of the News 13 staff members passed away from their wounds after being rushed to the hospital, according to Mina. On its website, Spectrum News 13 stated that it had not yet released any information regarding the shooting team members.

Police also found a mother who had been shot inside a nearby home along with her 9-year-old kid. The 9-year-old girl passed away at the hospital, according to Mina, while her mother was still "fighting for her life." The reason the suspect went into that house is unknown, according to Mina. The sheriff stated that they were unsure of the suspect's relationship to the news team, the mother, or the daughter.

Moses, according to Mina, has an extensive criminal history that includes arrests for burglary, grand theft, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm.

Local News Crew, 9-Year-Old Innocent Girl Among Victims

The two journalists, a photographer, and a reporter were shot in or near their vehicle that morning while covering the homicide, according to Mina. The vehicle "didn't look like a conventional news vehicle with many markings on it," the sheriff claimed.

Immediately after that shooting, police responded to a third shooting and discovered a mother on Harrington Street and her 9-year-old daughter had also been shot inside a house. The sheriff announced the 9-year-old's death. It's unknown why the suspect went into the house, CNN reported.

Per The Independent, it is still being determined how Moses will plead or if he has legal counsel. According to documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Moses has previously been detained for theft of a motor vehicle, the battery in a domestic dispute, impeding law enforcement, resisting arrest, burglary, failure to appear in court, grand theft, and probation violations.

On Wednesday, the White House sent its condolences. Fred Guttenberg, a proponent of gun control whose daughter Jaime died in the Parkland school shooting in 2018, posted on Twitter: "I am stunned. While covering a shooting, reporters in Orlando, Florida, get shot. One has passed away. The current campaign in Florida to pass permitless carry and prevent a repeat of violence is ongoing today.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre posted on Twitter, "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 Spectrum News team."

Tags

Florida