A Florida television station on Thursday identified the journalist who was fatally shot while covering a killing near Orlando, Florida.
Spectrum News 13 journalist Dylan Lyons was in an unmarked news vehicle on Wednesday when a man approached and shot him, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said.
Spectrum News photojournalist Jesse Walden, who was in the vehicle with Lyons, was critically wounded.
The man then killed a nine-year-old girl and wounded her mother in a shooting at a nearby home.
“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Sheriff Mina said.
“I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement.
"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.”
The suspect, identified as Keith Melvin Moses, was arrested after the shootings. He was also charged in connection with the killing of a woman hours before killing Lyons, Sheriff Mina said.
Mr Moses was armed with a pistol when he was taken into custody. The suspect's motives are not yet known.
“So, the suspect is not saying much right now,” the sheriff said.
He said it was not clear whether Mr Moses knew Lyons and Walden were journalists.
Josh Miller, Spectrum Sports 360 reporter and friend of Lyons, said the reporter “took his job very seriously”.
“He loved the community, telling the stories of people, reporting on the news, and he was just passionate about what he did," Miller said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said US President Joe Biden's administration was thinking about Lyons, the community and other shooting 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,” she said on Twitter.
Spectrum said Lyons was born and raised in Philadelphia, and moved to Gainesville after graduating from the University of Central Florida.
Lyons would have turned 25 in March, his sister Rachel Lyons said in a GoFundMe campaign to cover his funeral costs.
