Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- February 22, 2023
- Location
- Pine Hills, Florida
- Targets
- Jesse Walden (Spectrum News 13)
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
Spectrum News 13 photographer Jesse Walden speaks from his hospital bed after he and his colleague Dylan Lyons were shot while reporting in Pine Hills, Florida, on Feb. 22, 2023. Walden was critically injured, and Lyons died as a result of his injuries.
Alleged shooter of Spectrum News photojournalist indicted on first-degree murder charges
On March 30, 2023, a Florida grand jury indicted a man on 16 charges, including first-degree murder, for attacks that resulted in the shooting death of Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons and critical injuring of photojournalist Jesse Walden, according to court records. Two others also died in the February attacks.
The man, identified as Keith Melvin Moses, is now charged with three counts of first-degree murder, a capital offense. A hearing of his case is scheduled for April 10.
Additional charges brought against alleged shooter of Spectrum News photojournalist
On March 10, 2023, a Florida state attorney brought 10 additional charges against the man arrested for the attempted murder of Spectrum News 13 photojournalist Jesse Walden.
Walden and Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons were covering a homicide investigation on Feb. 22 in the Orlando suburb when a man approached their vehicle and began shooting at it. Walden was shot once in the groin and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Lyons died as a result of his injuries at the scene; his assault is documented here.
The shooter, identified as Keith Melvin Moses, was arrested the day of the shooting in connection with the original homicide investigation. Additional charges were filed against him a week later for the shooting of Lyons and Walden, as well as a third shooting at a nearby home that left a woman wounded and killed her 9-year-old daughter.
According to court documents, Florida State Attorney Monique Worrell brought additional charges against Moses on March 10. In total, he is now facing:
- Three counts of second degree murder with a firearm
- Two counts of attempted first-degree murder;
- Burglary of a dwelling with an assault or a battery;
- Two counts of shooting at, within or into an occupied vehicle;
- Two counts of shooting at, within or into a building;
- Possession of a firearm by a person found to have committed a delinquent act;
- Carrying a concealed firearm;
- Three counts of resisting an officer without violence; and
- Armed trespassing in a structure.
Worrell told Spectrum News 13 that Florida law requires an indictment for first-degree murder, which she expects will come. She said her intention is to vigorously prosecute the case against Moses.
Moses pleaded not guilty to charges from the first shooting on Feb. 24, and pleaded not guilty to charges from the second, which included the attack on Lyons and Walden, on March 6.
Man charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Spectrum News photojournalist
On Feb. 28, 2023, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office charged a man with attempted murder for the shooting of Spectrum News 13 photojournalist Jesse Walden.
Walden and Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons were covering a homicide investigation on Feb. 22 in the Orlando suburb when a man approached their vehicle and began shooting at it. Walden was shot once in the groin and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Lyons died as a result of his injuries at the scene; his assault is documented here.
By that evening, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office had arrested and charged a man, identified as Keith Moses, with murder from the original homicide investigation. On Feb. 28, the man was also charged with the murder and attempted murder of Lyons and Walden, as well as murder, attempted murder and armed burglary in connection with another shooting that left a woman wounded and killed her 9-year-old daughter.
Sheriff John Mina said in a press conference after the attacks that the shooter’s motivations were unknown, and it remains unclear whether the journalists were targeted because of their reporting.
News 13 reporter Rebecca Turco posted on Twitter that Walden is recovering well, and WFTV News 9 reported that he was released from the hospital on Feb. 27.
Spectrum News 13 photojournalist hopes to be released from hospital in coming days
In an interview from his hospital bed, Jesse Walden told Spectrum News 13 that he hopes to be released in the coming days but will likely face months of recovery before he is able to return to work.
Walden and News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons were shot while reporting on a homicide investigation in the Orlando suburb of Pine Hills, Florida, on Feb. 22, 2023. Lyons died as a result of his injuries and Walden was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
In an interview with his former station, KOB4, Walden said he had unknowingly parked their unmarked news vehicle in the same place where the earlier shooting had taken place.
“The crime scene had already wrapped up, so we had no real clue of where the car was previously,” Walden said. “I guess whoever this guy is — there’s something wrong with him — but he was shooting people all day who parked there.”
Walden told KOB4 that he had gotten out of the driver’s seat to grab his equipment from the trunk when he heard gunshots.
“I turn around because I’m like, ‘Oh, there must be a drive-by shooting going on,’” he said. “And I see that he’s shooting at me.”
Walden said that he was shot once in the groin and considers himself lucky. News 13 reporter Rebecca Turco visited Walden and said he is doing much better.
"You really wouldn’t know that he’d been in critical condition, because what a difference a day makes," Turco said. “He is in good spirits. It was a comfort to see him that way and that’s what so many of us here at 13 are holding onto as we mourn Dylan."
Walden also shared some of his memories of Lyons, saying that they had grown close after they joined the News 13 team around the same time in 2022 and were often paired up on the night-shift.
“He had a very strong sense of justice,” Walden said of Lyons. “He would really want everyone to follow the rules when it came to people with power.”
Lyons’ sister created a GoFundMe to support the family and help pay for his funeral services on March 10.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include details from Jesse Walden's interview with KOB4 News.
Photojournalist critically injured while reporting identified as Jesse Walden
Spectrum News has identified the Spectrum News 13 journalists who were shot while covering a news story in Pine HIlls, Florida, on Feb. 22, 2023. Reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, was killed and photojournalist Jesse Walden, 29, was critically injured.
Lyons and Walden were covering a homicide investigation in the Orlando suburb when a man came up to the Spectrum 13 news vehicle and began shooting at it. Lyons’ murder is documented here; he’s the seventh journalist in the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker database to be killed in the course of or as the result of their reporting.
By that evening, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office had arrested and charged a man, identified as Keith Moses, with murder from the original homicide investigation. In a press conference, Sheriff John Mina said they believed the morning’s homicide, the deadly attack on the news crew and another shooting that left a woman wounded and killed her 9-year-old daughter, were related, and they expected more charges to be filed. Mina said the motivations were unknown, and it remains unclear whether the journalists were targeted because of their reporting.
"It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not.” Mina said. “We're still trying to work all that out."
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre acknowledged the news colleagues on Twitter the evening following the shootings.
“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.”
The New York Post reported that Walden remains in the hospital but is alert and is able to communicate. According to his LinkedIn profile, Walden moved to Orlando in April 2022, and has previously worked for stations in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. He described himself as “using visual storytelling to show human connection.”
Two Spectrum News 13 journalists were shot while reporting at the scene of a homicide investigation in the Orlando suburb of Pine Hills, Florida, on Feb. 22, 2023. A reporter was declared dead at a local hospital where a photojournalist remains in critical condition, according to multiple sources.
The reporter and photojournalist were reporting on an Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the shooting of a 20-year-old woman at approximately 11 a.m. that day, Spectrum News 13 reported.
Shortly after 4 p.m., a man believed to be the suspect in that shooting approached the news crew as they were sitting in an unmarked news vehicle and shot them. The man then continued to a nearby home and shot a woman and her 9-year-old daughter.
WFTV Channel 9 News reporter Sabrina Maggiore wrote on Twitter that the shooter walked past a WFTV news crew at the scene before opening fire on the Spectrum News crew. She wrote that the WFTV crew ran up to the journalists to provide aid before emergency crews arrived.
Spectrum News 13 reported that it is not currently releasing the names of the reporter and photojournalist out of respect for their families.
Sheriff John Mina said in a press conference at 7:15 p.m. that a man had been arrested in connection with the shootings.
“We have detained the person believed to be responsible for the murder this morning as well as the shootings this afternoon,” Mina said. “He is being formally charged in the murder from this morning, and we expect additional charges for the shootings of the four people this afternoon.”
Mina added that the shooter’s motives were unclear and they had not yet determined whether the news crew were targeted because they were covering the first shooting.
“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Mina said. “No one in our community — not a mother, not a 9-year-old, and certainly not news professionals — should become the victim of gun violence.”
Charter Communications, Spectrum News 13's parent company, released a statement on Twitter following the shooting: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today. Our thoughts are with our employee’s family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery. This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community.”
WESH 2 News Reporter Luana Munoz tweeted that she and other members of the news media community had gathered at the hospital in solidarity.
“This is every reporter's absolutely worst nightmare. We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur, and that is what happened here,” Munoz said during a report from the hospital.
Since 2017, more than 300 journalists have been shot at or shot, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s database. The Spectrum News 13 reporter is the seventh journalist to be killed in the course of or as the result of their reporting.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
