Orlando shootings that killed TV news staffer, 9-year-old also shock Chicago and beyond
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 9-year-old girl, a woman in her 20s, and a TV journalist were all shot and killed by the same person Wednesday, according to police in Orlando, Florida.
It was extremely tough night for all the journalists there who are now reporting on one of their own.
As CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported, it is hard to imagine what the Spectrum News 13 newsroom in Orlando is going through – having to report on one of their own colleagues.
While this happened in Orlando, TV news by nature is a small business due to how transient it is. We have people in CBS 2's newsroom in Chicago who used to work with journalists currently working at Spectrum 13.
And the news of this violence is chilling, heartbreaking, and horrific for us all in local news in Chicago and beyond.
"This is every reporter's absolutely worst nightmare," Luana Munoz, a reporter with NBC affiliate WESH-TV, said in a live report outside Orlando Regional Medical Center Wednesday night. 'We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur – and that is what happened here."
Journalists in Florida and at Spectrum 13 were forced to do the unimaginable as they reported on their own colleagues.
"Our hearts go out to, of course, our colleagues at News 13. So many of us who work here at News 6 used to work at News 13," Lisa Bell, an anchor at CBS affiliate WKMG-TV 6 in Orlando said on the air. "You know, we're parents in this community, and to have a 9-year-old girl with her mother at home after school at 4 o'clock – and this man to have inflicted this violence in our community and then walked a block away and take her life while her mother is at ORMC fighting for her life right now is just heartbreaking. And of course, we can't forget about the photographer who's also fighting for his life, who also works at News 13."
"We do want to just point out that in this community – it's a very tight-knit community, especially among journalists. And when you're out in the field, you have each other's back," added News 6 Orlando anchor Ginger Gadsden, "and if you needed a piece of equipment, they would come over and they would help you and do something."
"We go out in the field every day, and we're assigned our stories, and no one thinks that they would never come home," said News 6 Orlando Jerry Askin outside the hospital.
"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," Spectrum News 13 reporter Celeste Springer said on the air.
The shooting rampage started Wednesday morning. Orange County, Florida Sheriff John Mina said Keith Melvin Moses, 19, had shot and killed an acquaintance – a woman in her 20s – and the reporter and photographer from Spectrum News 13 were there to cover the shooting.
Around 4 p.m., authorities said Moses returned to the scene.
"Deputies located two men that had been shot in or near a vehicle," Mina said. "They are a News 13 reporter and photographer who were on the scene to cover the homicide from this morning. Tragically one of the News 13 employees has passed."
Greg Angel, an anchor at Spectrum 13, tweeted: "Life is Fragile. We were just talking to our colleagues-friends-this afternoon. Life was normal. And now life is not normal."
He said the injured coworker has been able to communicate with investigators.
"In this area, we have not had any violence against our media partners - but certainly we have seen that around the nation and the world," Mina said.
After shooting the news crew, Moses is accused of entering a nearby home and shooting and killing a 9-year-old girl and critically wounding her mother.
The sheriff said Moses was arrested on the scene and has a long criminal history. He added it is unclear if Moses was aware that he shot members of the news media or if he intentionally targeted them.
The wounded journalist and mother were both in critical condition Wednesday night.
Spectrum News says they are hopeful their other colleague makes a full recovery.
