Keith Melvin Moses, the 19-year-old Florida suspect accused of fatally gunning down a beloved local news reporter, a 9-year-old child and a 20-year-old woman in a string of shootings Wednesday has a lengthy criminal past, according to law enforcement, but questions remain about the motive and what connection, if any, he had to the victims.
Moses was arrested Wednesday afternoon in connection to the bloodshed that also left a news photographer and the girl’s mother fighting for their lives in Orlando.
"At 19, he has a lengthy criminal history to include gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges," Orange County Sheriff John Mina said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. He did not elaborate further on Moses’ criminal past.
FOX 35 Orlando reported that online court records show Moses was arrested in November 2021 on charges of possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia. But the charges were dropped the next month. It’s unclear if he had a juvenile record, as that information usually remains sealed for minors.
SPECTRUM NEWS 13 REPORTER, 24, KILLED IN ORLANDO SHOOTING IDENTIFIED BY FAMILY AS DYLAN LYONS
At approximately 11 a.m., gunfire erupted in the 6100 block of Hialeah Street in Orlando where a woman in her 20s was found shot inside a vehicle and succumbed to her injuries.
Deputies had collected evidence, conducted follow-up, and canvassed the area, leading them to develop "good leads" to identify the homicide suspect, Mina told reporters.
They were out looking for Moses when additional 911 calls came in about shots fired in the same location at approximately 4:05 p.m.
Moses allegedly shot toward a vehicle, striking Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons and his photographer.
Lyons died from his injuries, while the photographer remains in critical condition, Mina said. They were reportedly prepping for a live TV report about the homicide from that morning.
The suspect took off running around the corner, entered a home and shot a mother and her 9-year-old girl inside.
The girl later died at a hospital, while the mother is fighting for her life, Mina said.
"He was an acquaintance of the woman this morning, but as far as we know, had no connection to the reporter and no connection to the mother and 9-year-old. We don’t know why he entered that home," Mina said of Moses. "The vehicle didn’t look like a typical news vehicle with a lot of markings on it. It’s possible that he could have mistaken them for law enforcement. I just don’t know at this time."
"The suspect is not saying much right now. It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. We’re still trying to work all of that out. That vehicle was almost exactly in the same spot the vehicle was from the homicide this morning," the sheriff said. "So, it’s unclear why exactly they were targeted, and we’re certainly going to look into that, and we’ll definitely let you know."
"You really don’t know what was in the mind of this suspect, and hopefully at some point, he’ll talk to us about what his motives were. But regardless, he’s eventually going to be charged…"
"In this area, we had not had any violence against our media partners, but certainly we have seen that around the nation and around the world, so that’s something that we’re definitely going to be taking a look at and put the pieces together and see why this happened," the sheriff added.
