A Florida journalist and a 9-year-old girl were gunned down Wednesday afternoon by a suspect wanted in an earlier fatal shooting at the same scene, authorities said.
Two others were also wounded, including a second News 13 journalist, in the 4 p.m. gunfire on Hialeah Street in Pine Hills, according to Orange County Sheriff John Mina.
The unthinkable horror began around 11 a.m. when the suspected gunman, 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, allegedly shot and killed a 20-year-old woman sitting in a car on the street, Mina said.
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Moses allegedly returned to the scene five hours later and fired rounds at a News 13 crew who were there reporting on the initial homicide.
Both a News 13 reporter and photographer who were near their news van were shot. One of the journalists died and the other is in critical condition, Mina said.
Shortly after, Moses allegedly stormed into a house on Hialeah Street, where he shot a 9-year-old girl and her mother. The child died of her injuries in the hospital, while her mother is fighting for her life, the sheriff said.
Officers arrested Moses following the later shootings and confirmed he was also a suspect in the slaughter of the 20-year-old woman. He was charged with one count of murder for the morning killing and is expected to face further charges for the second and third shootings, Mina said.
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He was armed with a handgun — which officers believe is the murder weapon — when apprehended by police.
“At 19, he had a lengthy criminal history to [sic] include gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges,” Mina said of the suspect.
Mina said the first victim was believed to be an acquaintance of Moses, but there is no known connection between the suspect and his later targets at this time. Deputies are investigating a motive.
The sheriff also said it’s unclear if Mina specifically targeted the News 13 team because they were journalists. He added that the team’s van was not clearly distinguishable as a news van, but said that the photographer’s equipment was visible.
“No one in our community — not a mother, not a nine year old, certainly not news professionals should become the victim of gun violence,” Mina said.
Homicide detectives and other law enforcement officers had cleared the scene of the initial morning murder by the time of the afternoon shootings, he added.