Near Orlando, Florida, and not far from the scene of a murder that happened earlier in the day, two people—a TV reporter and a nine-year-old girl—were shot and killed.
The same shooter, who is also accused of the other homicide, also shot and wounded the mother of the girl and a second reporter.
When the adolescent suspect returned that morning, the two Spectrum News 13 reporters were covering the murder of a woman in the neighbourhood, according to authorities.
If they were intended targets is unknown.
Investigators claimed that the guy was resisting arrest and had a weapon when he was taken into custody.
The identities of the three victims of Wednesday’s two attacks in Pine Hills, a suburb west of Orlando, are yet unknown.
When they were attacked at around 16:00 local time, according to Orange County Sheriff John Mina, the journalists were “in or near their vehicle,” which he claimed did not resemble a TV station’s official vehicle (22:00 GMT).
He claimed that when the reporters were covering an earlier shooting that had left a woman in her 20s fatally wounded inside a car at around 11:00 local time, the suspect returned to the site and began firing.
The sheriff claimed that after shooting the journalists, the alleged shooter, Keith Moses, 19, entered a nearby house and shot the girl and her mother.
He added that the mother was in the hospital and was in a serious condition.
Upon the announcement of the reporter’s passing, Spectrum 13 maintained its live coverage.
The station’s newscaster Greg Angel stated that the hurt reporter had “been able to communicate with investigators and colleagues.”
Mr Mina claimed that the suspect “had a significant criminal past, including charges related to firearms, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grand theft.”
As far as we know, he had no relationship with the reporters, the mother, or the nine-year-old, according to the man who characterized him as an “acquaintance” of the woman who had been shot in the morning.
When questioned about the potential that the shooter targeted the reporters on purpose, Mr Mina responded, “It’s something we’ll be looking at.”
He continued by saying that it was also possible that the suspect thought the reporters to be police.
A reporter for Orlando TV station WESH 2 stated that the incident occurred just moments after she and her camera operator departed the crime site.
Senait Gebregiorgis stated, “We received a gut sense,” and made the decision to flee for their safety.
The TV station’s owner, Charter Communications, issued a statement describing the incident as “a tragic tragedy for the Orlando community.”
The corporation expressed its “deep sorrow” for the passing of its employee and the other senselessly lost lives on this day.
