Several shootings in Orange County, Florida, left at least three people dead, including a nine-year-old girl and a television reporter who was on the scene covering a previous shooting.
In total, at least five other people were injured as a result of the attacks. All occurred in the same area and on the same day, but at different times.
ALERT: Multiple people shot on Hialeah Street, same scene as a homicide earlier today. One person has been detained. We will update as soon as possible. @SheriffMina will brief at a time and location TBD. pic.twitter.com/7exNZy8nDF
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 22, 2023
Several shootings in Orange County
The first shooting took place on Hialeah St. on Wednesday morning. There, a woman in her 20s was shot and killed. Shortly thereafter, a reporter from Spectrum News 13, who was on the scene covering the event, was killed in another shooting at the same location.
Subsequently, another attack was carried out in a nearby area. This time it was a woman and her nine-year-old daughter who were shot in their home. The girl was unable to recover from the gunshot wounds and died.
Suspect arrested
The Orange County Sheriff's Office tweeted a photograph showing the suspect in custody. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, was arrested and is accused of carrying out all of the shootings and homicides. Sheriff John Mina shared the following via Twitter:
This is 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, the suspect in a series of shootings today that left three dead, in OCSO custody. This is a sad day for our community. Three were murdered today, including a woman in her 20s, a 9-year-old girl and a @MyNews13 employee. pic.twitter.com/DXXkxzRHl5
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023
According to Mina, Moses has a lengthy criminal record that includes charges of weapons possession, aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon, among others:
We have detained the person believed to be responsible for the murder this morning, as well as the shootings this afternoon. … He has a lengthy criminal history, to include gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges.
The sheriff added that they are investigating the reasons for the attacks. It is believed that Moses knew the woman killed in the morning. However, he had no connections to the mother, the nine-year-old girl or the journalist who were shot.
It's unclear why exactly they were targeted. And, you know, certainly we're going to look into that.
Sheriff John Mina update on shooting https://t.co/G0XaiTzdnt
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023
