A tragic incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Florida where a journalist and a 9-year-old girl were shot and killed by a suspect.

The authorities have revealed that the suspect was already wanted for an earlier fatal shooting at the same location.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina shared that two others were injured, including another journalist from Spectrum News 13, during the gunfire that took place around 4 p.m. on Hialeah Street in Pine Hills.

The horror began at approximately 11 a.m. when the suspect, a 19-year-old named Keith Melvin Moses, reportedly shot and killed a 20-year-old woman who was sitting in a car on the street.

Five hours later, Moses returned to the scene and fired rounds at the Spectrum News 13 crew who were reporting on the initial homicide.

This is a terrible tragedy that has left the community in shock and mourning.

Both a News 13 reporter and photographer who were in and near their news van were shot. The 24-year-old reporter, identified by family early Thursday as Dylan Lyons, died. The photographer was hospitalized in critical condition, Mina said.

Shortly after the initial shooting, the suspect, Keith Melvin Moses, allegedly entered a home on Hialeah Street and shot a 9-year-old girl and her mother.

Tragically, the child later passed away from her injuries in the hospital, while her mother remains in critical condition, according to the sheriff.

Moses was later arrested by the police in connection with the subsequent shootings and was confirmed to be a suspect in the earlier murder of the 20-year-old woman.

He was charged with one count of murder for the first killing, and is expected to face additional charges for the second and third shootings, as stated by Sheriff Mina.

When taken into custody, Moses was found to be carrying a handgun, which authorities believe to be the murder weapon. The sheriff also shared that the 19-year-old suspect had a history of criminal activity, including gun charges, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grand theft charges.

This tragedy highlights the importance of addressing gun violence in our communities and the need for comprehensive gun control laws.

Sheriff Mina has shared that the initial victim was known to be an acquaintance of the suspect, Keith Melvin Moses, but there is currently no known connection between Moses and his later targets. The authorities are investigating to determine a motive for the tragic incident.

Regarding the shooting of the News 13 team, the sheriff stated that it is unclear whether Moses targeted them specifically because they were journalists. The suspect has not provided much information about the incident so far.

The sheriff also revealed that the van used by the News 13 team was not easily identifiable as a news van, although the photographer’s equipment was visible. It is a distressing situation, and our hearts go out to the families of the victims during this challenging time.

“No one in our community — not a mother, not a 9-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.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today,” Spectrum News said in a statement.

“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,” Spectrum’s parent company Charter Communications said in a statement Wednesday night. “This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community.”

Spectrum reporter Celeste Springer grew emotional in a live broadcast from the hospital, where her colleague remains in critical condition. 

“This is extremely devastating for all of us, but I’m proud to have such an amazing team backing all of us,” Springer said on air. “We really are such an incredible family here tonight and of course, we’re all praying for our news member who’s in the hospital right now.”

“A couple hours ago before we learned that our news member had passed away, we all sat in a circle here and said a quick prayer and all I can ask for anyone watching at home right now is 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 in this country,” she said, tearing up. 

Another News 13 co-worker announced the critically injured journalist was improving later that night.

“In one good news update — our other co-worker who was critically injured in this shooting is alert and speaking to investigators and the medical team,” Spectrum News hurricane specialist Zach Covey said. “We are hopeful for a full and swift recovery.”

He asked others to keep the team in their thoughts as they cope with the loss of one of their own.

“Please – keep my News 13 family in your thoughts tonight and for the next several days,” Covey tweeted. “I’m going to pull back from social for a little while I process tonight. Please respect our distance during this time.”

The Biden administration offered its condolences to the families of the two journalists following the news. 

“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 tweeted. 

US Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) called the shooting “absolutely horrible.”

“My team and I are closely monitoring the situation and keeping these Floridians and their families in our prayers,” Scott said.