A Florida reporter who was fatally shot on the job Wednesday after the suspect in an earlier shooting returned to the crime scene has been recognized as Dylan Lyons of Spectrum News 13 in Orlando.
Lyons, a 24-year-old Philadelphia native, and one other Spectrum News 13 worker, photojournalist Jesse Walden, had been each shot round 4 p.m. Wednesday while masking the murder of a girl in Pine Hills, simply outdoors of Orlando.
Walden was critically injured within the shooting however survived, Orange County Sheriff John Mina mentioned.
The loss of life of Lyons, who joined Spectrum News 13 as a multimedia journalist in July 2022, sparked an outpouring of grief from family members and colleagues within the newsroom.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today,” Spectrum News 13 mentioned in an announcement. “Our thoughts are with our employee’s family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery.”
The White House additionally weighed in with condolences.
“Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, shooting suspect Keith Melvin Moses was being held in reference to the killings of Lyons in addition to two different folks, 9-year-old T’yonna Major and 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin.
“We’re not looking for anyone else,” Mina mentioned at a news convention Thursday. “He’s the guy. He’s our suspect.”
Lyons and Walden had been in Pine Hills masking the deadly shooting of Augustin, who was slain earlier Wednesday.
Mina mentioned it isn’t clear whether or not Moses knew that Lyons and Walden had been reporters when he approached their automobile and opened hearth. “It’s unclear why exactly they were targeted,” the sheriff mentioned.
But after shooting the reporters, Moses walked over to a close-by residence the place he shot the little lady and her mom, Mina mentioned.
Moses knew Augustin, nevertheless it’s unclear whether or not he knew the opposite shooting victims, mentioned Mina, who didn’t determine the wounded mom. She stays in essential situation.
Moses, “as far as we know, had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the 9-year-old,” Mina mentioned. “We don’t know why he entered that home.”
Lyons’ family members in mourning
In a gut-wrenching Twitter post, Casey Lynn, a girl figuring out herself as Lyons’ fiancée, wrote: “The love of my life was murdered.”
“I will never be the same person ever again,” she mentioned, sharing a GoFundMe web page arrange by Lyons’ household to assist cowl the prices of his funeral.
On his own Twitter account, Lyons had previously linked to Casey Lynn’s account with a series of heart emojis.
In the GoFundMe set up by Lyons’ loved ones, the organizer, who identified herself as his older sister, Rachel Lyons, says the journalist was an “appearing father to his niece and nephew who he liked a lot.”
“He liked his fiancée and was a loyal son to his mom and father,” Rachel Lyons wrote.
“Dylan would have been 25 years outdated in March,” she said. “He was a contented soul and fantastic particular person in life. My brother was our child. He was taken too early from us.”
“Born and raised in Philadelphia, Dylan’s journey to journalism was fueled by his want to inform tales that influence native communities,” Lyons’ Spectrum News 13 bio says.
Lyons was a “proud University of Central Florida graduate with a level in Journalism and Political Science,” it says, adding that during his time at UCF the slain reporter anchored the UCF Knightly News, a student-run news station.
Before joining the Spectrum News 13 team, Lyons also worked as a reporter and anchor for ABC affiliate WCJB of Gainesville, the bio said. He was awarded the best “Politics/Elections Series” by the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists and was a finalist for Investigative Reporting in 2021.
Lyons is the latest reporter killed in the U.S. while on the job
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the deadly shooting of Lyons.
“We are appalled by the killing of a Spectrum 13 journalist in Orange County, Florida, and we stand in solidarity with the newsroom,” said Katherine Jacobsen, the organization’s U.S. and Canada program coordinator. “It is deeply disturbing that a journalist was killed while covering the gun violence that has become a sickening reality of living in the United States. Reporters must be able to cover the news without having to fear for their lives.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists noted that Lyons death came nearly six months after another reporter, Las Vegas Review Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, was stabbed to death outside his home on Sept. 2, 2022.
Not counting Lyons, 13 journalists and one media worker have been confirmed killed while working within the United States since the organization began keeping records in 1992.
The Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press also condemned the shootings of the reporters.
“Every day, journalists across the country go out into the field to do the essential work of bringing important information to their communities,” executive director Bruce D. Brown said. “We are sadly seeing journalism become an increasingly dangerous profession in the United States, and it should not be this way.”
Tributes for Lyons poured-in following word of his death.
“Dylan Lyons was a committed journalist, and a major talent as an on-air presence. Moreover, he was part of the TV20 family,” WCJB news director Jon Levy said in a statement. “He had the range to thrive as our morning show reporter, then nightside reporter, and finally as the anchor to launch our 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. He had a big personality and was never afraid to ask the tough questions.”
“Dylan was also deeply involved in TV20′s charitable and community outreach efforts during his time in North Central Florida. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and the Spectrum News 13 team,” Levy said.
“If you knew Dylan, you knew he embodied journalism. Integrity. Passion. Ethics. Speed. He meant so much to so many people,” Megan Turner wrote in a tweet, sharing the GoFundMe page set up by Lyons’ family.
“I was his editor at UCF. He inspired me & always rooted for those around him — pray for his loved ones & colleagues,” Turner wrote.
“Absolutely horrible. My heart goes out to @MyNews13, friends and family of journalist Dylan Lyons, and the family and friends of the 9-year-old little girl,” Chandler Watkins wrote.
Many also shared messages of condolences with Lyons’ fiancée, with Turner writing: “We’re here for you” in a Twitter post.
“I’m so heartbroken for you and Dylan’s family,” Alexandra Leslie, another journalist, wrote. “Reporters in Rhode Island are thinking of Dylan tonight,” she said.
Photojournalist critically injured
Walden has been able to speak with investigators, police and his colleagues in the newsroom confirmed.
“He is shaken up, but in good spirits for his physical recovery,” Celeste Springer, a fellow journalist at Spectrum News 13, mentioned in a Twitter post.
But to date, Moses has not been speaking, Mina mentioned.
“Because Moses is not speaking to us, we are unable to determine a motive at this time,” the sheriff mentioned after Moses was taken into custody.
Spectrum News 13 staffers continued reporting the story Wednesday night whilst they mourned their fallen colleague, in accordance with the Orlando Sentinel.
“This is extremely devastating for all of us,” reporter Celeste Springer mentioned on air. “But I am proud to have such an amazing team backing all of us. …. Please, please say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition. And while you’re at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence.”