T’yonna Major was identified as the nine-year-old victim killed in the mass shooting near Orlando, Florida (Picture: gofundme)
The nine-year-old girl killed in a seemingly random mass shooting screamed ‘he shot me’ as the gunman broke into her home.
A probable cause affidavit for suspect Keith Moses was released on Wednesday, revealing more details about the shooting spree in Florida that left three dead and two wounded.
After the murder of 38-year-old victim Nathacha Augustin, news crews arrived to cover the shooting. Around 4.05pm that afternoon, police received another 911 call that a reporter was shot near the site of the first shooting.
The suspect returned to the scene and shot two journalists working for Spectrum News 13 – reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, and photojournalist Jesse Walden, 29.
Dylan Lyons, a reporter for Spectrum News 13, was one of the victims killed in the shootings (Picture: Spectrum News 13)
Two other journalists, whose names were redacted in the affidavit, witnessed a man with ‘spikey dreads’ leave the scene after hearing gunshots. They were able to get video footage of the suspect, which they handed over to investigators.
The suspect then broke into a nearby house, where they shot nine-year-old T’yonna Major twice in the abdomen.
According to the affidavit, Major’s mother, Brandi Major, was taking a nap just before the suspect broke into her home. ‘She told [T’yonna Major] to get her dance items together to be ready when her father got home,’ the document reads.
Brandi woke up to her daughter yelling ‘HE SHOT ME!’ as she jumped into her bed. Moments later, she was heard two gunshots and felt one hit her in the arm.
Keith Moses, the suspected shooter, is seen in a booking photo after his arrest last Wednesday (Picture: AP)
The mother and daughter ‘barricaded themselves in the master bedroom until law enforcement arrived.’ When police got to the scene, Brandi described the intruder as having the same short dreads, and said she believed he entered her house through the sliding glass door.
The mother said she usually kept her doors locked, but sometimes left the sliding door unlocked to let the dog in and out.
Both Brandi and T’yonna were taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital, where the young girl died from her injuries.
Sheriff’s deputies eventually caught up with Moses around 4.30pm about less than half a mile from the crime scene, the affidavit states. He was carrying a Glock .40 caliber handgun in his pocket.
Body camera footage captures the moment sheriff’s deputies surround and arrest Keith Moses, less than half a mile from the site of the shooting (Picture: Orange County Sheriff’s Office)
Suspect Keith Moses refused to speak to investigators or medical staff after being taken into custody (Picture: Xinhua/Shutterstock)
‘At the time deputies discovered the firearm, they noted the firearm was physically hot to the touch, and the slide was in the locked position with the magazine still inserted in the magazine well.’
This told detectives that Moses’s gun had been recently fired, and that it was fired until the magazine ran out of ammunition.
In body camera footage released after the arrest, Moses could be heard yelling ‘they killin’ me!’ and ‘let me go!’ as deputies tackled him to the ground.
Moses was then transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center for an evaluation. The entire time, he refused to speak to either law enforcement officers or any medical personnel at the hospital.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina announces murder charges for suspect Keith Moses (Picture: AP)
The affidavit did say that he communicated with expressions, including smiling at deputies and making ‘hand symbols of guns as he pointed the gun at his head.’
He was then taken into police custody, and witnesses identified him as the shooter in a police lineup. They also confirmed he was the same person in the footage taken by the reporters – easily identifiable by his distinct hair.
Moses continued to refuse to speak to investigators, and closed his eyes and pretended to sleep while being interviewed. ‘Although his eyes were shut, it was clear he was not sleeping as he was shaking his legs and making facial expressions to detectives,’ the affidavit reads.
It also details how Moses tried to force his way out of an interrogation room. When he was stopped by deputies, Moses began screaming ‘I can’t breathe!’
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A probable cause affidavit for suspect Keith Moses was released on Wednesday, revealing more details about the shooting spree in Florida that left three dead and two wounded.
