The young journalist who was shot dead while reporting a murder incident at the scene in Pine Hills, Florida, on Wednesday has been identified as 24-year-old Dylan Lyons. Lyons was identified as the murdered Spectrum News 13 reporter by his older sister and fiancée who set up and uploaded a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral expenses.
Lyons was killed and his colleague was wounded while working for Spectrum News 13 and reporting on a local homicide that had happened at the same spot five hours earlier. He was among the three people killed in the area on Wednesday by the same gunman.
Killed on Duty
The same guy is accused of shooting a nine-year-old child and her mother shortly after Lyons was killed. “The love of my life was murdered. I will never be the same person ever again,” his devastated fiancée, Casey Lynn, tweeted with a link to the GoFundMe page. “Please help my family and I during this time.”
Lyons who would have turned 25 next month and his News 13 coworker were shot by a gunman suspected in the earlier shooting that they had been covering.
Career criminal Keith Melvin Moses, 19, grinned and scowled as he was taken into custody on Wednesday in connection with the three shootings, which police suspect are connected.
Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies found a 20-year-old lady with gunshot wounds in the 6100 block of Hialeah Street at 11:17 am on Wednesday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lyons from Spectrum News 13 then arrived at the initial crime scene to start covering the woman’s death. However, Moses returned to the crime scene and started firing again, killing the news reporter and wounding the photographer.
Police were alerted to a third shooting close at the same time, at 4.05 p.m., where a woman and her nine-year-old daughter had been shot in a residential house. The mother is still in serious condition while Lyons and the young girl both died. The other two victims were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Talented Journalist
According to his biography and LinkedIn profile, Lyons graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2019 with a degree in journalism and political science. He had earlier reported for a number of regional Florida stations prior to joining the News 13 crew in July 2022.
“Born and raised in Philadelphia, Dylan’s journey to journalism was fueled by his desire to tell stories that impact local communities,” Lyons’ bio on the News 13 website states. “As a reporter, he’s honored to have the unique privilege of being a voice for the voiceless and making sure all communities and stories are treated fairly and equally.”
He received the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists’ top “Politics/Election Series” award in 2020 for his work at Gainesville’s WCJB TV20, an ABC affiliate.
Ty Russell, the nightly anchor for News 13, claimed that Lyons followed him around as an intern. The teenage reporter was “a go-getter” who was enthusiastic about journalism, according to him.
“Our industry had a good one. This guy was supposed to go places,” Russell tweeted. “He had a huge heart.”
Lyons cited the murder of a 13-year-old girl as one of the most significant incidents he covered. “The story was especially moving for Dylan because it illustrated the importance of ensuring proper protections for the most vulnerable in our society,” his bio reads.
He also got nominated for his investigative work in 2021 for a report titled “Alachua County residents accuse neighbor of torturing her dogs.” Besides his commitment to journalism, Lyons also frequently posted pictures of his adored fiancée, Casey, on social media.
His tweet from the previous year read: “November 7th, 2021 changed my life forever! It is the day you became my girlfriend! That was one of the easiest decisions of my life! You’re a remarkable, beautiful, kind, loving, and caring girl Case! I love you so much!”
A colleague reporting on Lyons’ death said that his fiancee and family were present at the hospital when he died.
