Three People, Including a 9-Year-Old, Die in Orlando Shooting

According to local authorities, Keith Melvin Moses, a 19-year-old man, allegedly shot and killed  38-year-old Nathacha Augustin on the morning of Wednesday, February 23rd in Orange County, Florida. This incident occurred around 11 am and Augustin was shot while in a vehicle. Local authorities reported to the crime scene, collecting evidence.

Another Shooting, More Victims

A few hours after the initial shooting, around 3 pm in the afternoon, Moses returned to the scene and shot at two Spectrum 13 News journalists who were in and around their vehicle. One of the journalists, 24-year-old Dylan Lyons, died at the scene while the other, photographer Jesse Walden, is in critical condition in hospital. Lyons and Walden were reporting the shooting of Augustin when they were shot by Moses.

Moses proceeded to a house where he shot a mother and her 9-year-old daughter. The nine-year-old girl died from the shooting while her mother is in critical condition. The names of all the victims of the latter shootings have not been publicized at the time of reporting.

Sheriff John Mina of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office shared information about the scattered shootings at a press conference held later that day. He said that Moses was in police custody and had been charged for the murder of the 38-year-old woman, who was previously reported as a 20-year-old victim. 

At the time of writing, Moses had not yet been charged for the shootings of the other four victims.

Mina said the shooter and his first victim were acquaintances but it was not clear what the motive for the shooting was. Moses has a long history of crime with over a dozen previous charges including aggravated assault, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon dating back to January 2018. He has also faced gun charges. 

Mina spoke about the two journalists who were shot at the crime scene while reporting on the first shooting that Moses had carried out at the press conference. “That vehicle was almost exactly in the same spot as the vehicle was from the homicide this morning. So it’s unclear why exactly they were targeted. And you know certainly we’re going to look into that, and we will definitely let you know,” Mina said. He added that the vehicle the journalists were using did not have any special markings that showed it was a vehicle used by members of the media. 

“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 community,” Mina said, lamenting the tragic incident.

The death of the Spectrum 13 journalist left his journalism colleagues stunned, with some moved to tears. 

“This is another tragic reminder that journalism is a dangerous business and that criminals and those that are the subject of reporting can become violent toward reporters who are doing their jobs,” the National Press Club said in a statement. “We urge all reporters in the field to take extra precaution and redouble efforts to work safely.”

This is yet another incident of gun violence that has occurred in the United States.