Dylan Lyons, reporter killed in Florida, was raised in Philly area
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We now know that a TV reporter shot and killed in Florida was born and raised in the Philadelphia area.
Dylan Lyons, 24, was named as the victim in an obituary from the station where he worked, Spectrum News 13 in Florida.
Lyons was a reporter at the station and was on the job when he and photographer Jesse Walden were shot in Pine Hills, just west of Orlando, Wednesday afternoon.
Police say they were targeted while sitting in a news vehicle.
They were on the scene, reporting on the fatal shooting of a woman named Natacha Augustin, when police said the alleged suspect returned to the scene and opened fire on Lyons and a news photographer.
Police say the gunman then went into a house and shot and killed a 9-year-old girl, and injured her mother.
The girl was later identified as T'yonna Major.
"No one in our community, not a mother, not a 9-year-old, and certainly not a news professional, should become the victim of gun violence," Orange County Sheriff John Mina said in a news conference Wednesday. "I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community."
Police have arrested 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, who they say is responsible for all the shootings.
Moses was not saying much to police at the time, Mina said.
Investigators say the suspect knew the first victim, but it's unclear why he allegedly targeted the other victims, including the journalists.
Major's mother is in critical condition.
Walden, the photographer, was in critical condition after the shooting, but he's been responsive, according to Spectrum.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken," Spectrum News wrote in a statement. "Our thoughts are with our employee's family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time."
Lyons was engaged, according to a GoFundMe post his sister created to raise money for his funeral.
On social media, Lyons professed his love for the Philadelphia Eagles and even had socks with the team's logo.
Lyons had covered news in Orlando for less than six months before he was killed. He was a graduate of the University of Central Florida.
He received an award from the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists in 2020 for best Politics/Elections series. The following year, he was a finalist for an investigative reporting award.
A reporter on WESH2, an NBC station in the area, broke down while reporting on the case.
"It is nice to see all the media coming together in solidarity in this moment," she said. "This is every reporter's absolutely worst nightmare, we go home at night afraid that something like this will occur and that is what happened here."
Both the White House press secretary and the head of the Radio Television Digital News Association mourned Lyons on social media.
"It is with deep sadness that @RTDNA learns of the death of a @MyNews13 journalist in Orlando," Radio Television Digital News Association CEO Dan Shelley tweeted. "He was 1 of 2 of the station's journalists shot covering a previous crime in a residential area. Sending thoughts of peace and comfort to their families, friends & the other victims."
"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," Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter.
