Orlando TV journalist and a child are among the shooting victims in ‘terrible tragedy’

An Orlando TV reporter was shot and killed Wednesday while covering a homicide that happened hours earlier, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said.

The unidentified Spectrum News 13 journalist was one of three people killed and two others critically injured Wednesday in a series of Orlando shootings as Mina laid out the sequence of tragic events that also involved the death of a 9-year-old child.

“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Mina said during a news conference Wednesday night.

Keith Melvin Moses, 19, has been arrested in connection to all the shootings, Mina said.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday, a woman in her 20s was killed after being shot in the 6100 block of Hialeah Street in Orlando’s Pine Hills neighborhood.

Hours later, the sheriff’s office received 911 calls at 4:05 p.m. about additional shootings.

Two men, a Spectrum News 13 reporter and photographer, were in the area covering the murder from earlier that morning and were shot inside or near their vehicle.

“Tragically one of the News 13 employees has passed,” Mina said.

The surviving News 13 employee is listed in critical condition, Mina said.

“This is extremely devastating for all of us,” reporter Celeste Springer said as she kept reporting live on the story that was affecting her newsroom. “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.”

After the journalists were shot, a mother and her 9-year-old child were later shot inside a nearby home for unknown reasons, Mina said.

The mother is in critical condition, according to the sheriff.

The sheriff said law enforcement arrested Moses, the man they believed was responsible for the day’s shootings.

Moses is being formally charged in the murder of the woman killed Wednesday morning with additional charges expected, Mina said.

“He has a lengthy criminal history to include gun charges, aggravated and aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges,” Mina said.

The journalists’ vehicle appeared to be unmarked as Mina said the vehicle didn’t stand out as a news vehicle.

Their vehicle was parked in almost the same spot where law enforcement had been investigating the Wednesday morning homicide, Mina said, so it’s unclear if the TV crew was targeted for being journalists or mistaken for police.

“The suspect is not saying much right now,” Mina said. “It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. We’re still trying to work all that out… You really don’t know what was in the mind of this suspect.”

Mina added Moses was an acquittance of the woman killed Wednesday morning.

“But as far as we know, he had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and a nine-year-old,” Mina said, describing the shooting locations as near each other.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today,” said a statement from the station’s parent company Charter Communications. “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. This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community.”