A 19-year-old gunman left three dead and two in critical condition, on Wednesday, in Pine Hills, Florida, a suburb just west of Orlando.
Keith Moses was taken into custody and charged with the murder of 38-year-old Natacha Augustin, who was shot in a car around 11 a.m., Wednesday.
He allegedly returned to the scene of the crime five hours after the first incident and shot two members of the media who were parked in the same spot as the previous victim. They were Dylan Lyons, a journalist, and Jesse Walden, a photographer, both employed by Spectrum News 13. Lyons died on the scene.
WESH 2 reporter Senait Gebregiorgis says she and her photographer left shortly before the second shooting, saying, “we got a gut feeling” regarding their safety.
Moses then allegedly entered a nearby house and shot a 9-year-old girl and her mother. The mother is in critical condition, and the little girl died.
The mother and daughters’ names have not been released.
Sheriff John Mina held a press conference in which he detailed previous crimes in which the alleged perpetrator has been involved, including aggravated battery, assault, and grand theft.
Local news station WESH2 could only find misdemeanor drug possession, as the other more serious offenses likely occurred when Moses was a juvenile and didn’t have his name released publicly at the time.
Mina later reported that Moses is a “known gang member,” but said there was no indication the shootings were gang related.
The New York Post reported that Walden was alert and talking, according to his loved ones.
Walden, 24, previously worked for WOFL-TV, a Fox station in Orlando, and for KSTU in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He shared his tips on YouTube on how to get hired in media. He described how he got hired at his first job as a news photographer after graduating from New Mexico State University with a degree in creative media and video.
Former colleague, reporter Amanda McKenzie, wrote on Twitter, “Please say a prayer for Jesse Walden this morning, I had the opportunity to work with Jesse last year and I am hoping that he pulls through and recovers.”
Sheriff Mina said that Moses knew the first victim but have not established any links between him and the others. At this time, it remains unknown if he knew his next victims were members of the media. The investigation into a motive is ongoing. More charges will likely soon follow.
This news and commentary by Jacob Grandstaff originally appeared on Valiant News.
