A central Florida television journalist and a young girl were fatally shot on 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 on Wednesday evening that the police have detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood.
Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the nine-year-old girl, a TV crew member 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 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 – not a mother, not a nine-year-old and certainly not news professionals – should become the victim of gun violence in our community.”
Mina said they don’t immediately have a motive for any of the shootings.
Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just north-west of Orlando, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot.
According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later on 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. Moses’s criminal history includes gun charges, as well as aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offenses, the sheriff said.
Spectrum News 13 is not yet identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV station’s website.