FL Journalist Covering Murder Killed In Series Of Pine Hills Shootings: Police

PINE HILLS, FL — A Florida broadcast journalist, a woman, and a 9-year-old girl were killed Wednesday in a series of shootings in Pine Hills, an unincorporated area of Orange County located west of Orlando, according to authorities. At least two others were injured in the shooting, police said.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina confirmed at an evening news conference that two Spectrum News 13 crewmembers were shot near the 6100 block of Hialeah Street shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Witnesses told police a man approached the crew's news vehicle and opened fire before walking to a nearby home, where he shot a mother and her 9-year-old daughter.

One of the TV news crew members died, Mina said. The girl was also killed, he added.

“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Mina said during a news conference. “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 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals — should become the victim of gun violence in our community.”

The second TV crewmember and the girl's mother are currently in critical condition at a local hospital, Mina said.

Mina did not release the victims' names but indicated the news crewmembers were a reporter and a photographer.

Spectrum News 13 also has not identified the employees, according to a story on the station's website.

The shootings followed an earlier one that took place in the same location around 11:20 a.m. A woman in her 20s was killed in that shooting, Mina said.

Keith Melvin Moses, 19, was formally charged in connection with the Wednesday morning shooting, Mina said, adding he expects additional charges for the four additional victims to follow.

Authorities said Moses has a "lengthy" criminal history that includes gun charges, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offenses.