TV journalist Dylan Lyons shot dead while reporting at murder scene in Florida
A TV journalist has been killed while reporting from the scene of a murder during a shooting spree in Florida that left a total of three people dead and two injured.
The reporter, named as 24-year-old Dylan Lyons, was covering the fatal shooting of Nathacha Augustin, 38, in Pine Hills, west of Orlando, at the time of the attack.
Mr Lyons was identified on Thursday by the channel Spectrum News 13, which also confirmed photographer Jesse Walden was injured while reporting at the scene.
Mr Lyons loved reporting on the news and telling people’s stories, a colleague said
It is believed the gunman first killed Ms Augustin, and then returned to the scene hours later where he shot Mr Lyons and his colleague.
The attacker then went to a nearby home where he fatally shot nine-year-old T’yonna Major and critically wounded her mother.
Police have detained a suspect, Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for all three shootings.
Moses has been formally charged with the murder of Ms Augustin, with whom he was acquainted.
Additional charges are set to follow relating to the other four victims, who were not known to him.
According to officials, the teenager has a lengthy criminal history – including charges related to firearms, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and theft.
A photo released by Orange County Sheriff’s Office showed Moses as he was taken into custody.
The suspect, Keith Melvin Moses, was pictured as he was taken into custody
‘Horrible day’
At a news conference, Sheriff John Mina said it had been a “horrible day”.
He added: “No one in our community – not a mother, not a nine-year-old and certainly not news professionals – should become the victim of gun violence in our community.”
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Mr Mina said the motive behind the shootings is currently unclear.
Mr Lyons and Mr Walden were in an unmarked news vehicle on Wednesday when they were approached by the gunman.
Mr Mina said it is unknown whether the suspect knew they were journalists.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre posted on Twitter: “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.”
Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer asked viewers to “please, please say a prayer” for Mr Walden during her live on-air report on Wednesday night.
“And while you’re at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country,” she added.
Police at the scene of one of the shootings
‘He was taken too early from us’
Spectrum Sports 360 reporter Josh Miller, a friend of Mr Lyons, told how he took his job “very seriously” and “loved is career”.
“He loved the community, telling the stories of people, reporting on the news, and he was just passionate about what he did.”
Mr Lyons’ older sister, Rachel, has now set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for his funeral.
The Philadelphia-born journalist was an “acting father” to his niece and nephew, who he “loved so much,” she wrote.
“He loved his fiancee and was a devoted son to his mother and father. Dylan would have been 25 years old in March.
“He was a happy soul and wonderful person in life. My brother was our baby. He was taken too early from us.”
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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