‘He shot me!’ fatally wounded 9-year-old in Orlando shooting cried as she ran to mother, affidavit says
By Raja Razek and Steve Almasy, CNN
A 9-year-old girl, who was fatally wounded when a gunman broke into her family’s Florida home after shooting a woman nearby hours earlier, told her mother, “He shot me!” as she ran for help, according to an arrest affidavit released Tuesday.
Sheriff’s investigators have said the suspected shooter, Keith Moses, is accused of killing a woman on the morning of February 22 — which brought news crews to the scene. Hours later in the neighborhood just west of Orlando, a gunman shot T’Yonna Major and her mother, then went outside and fatally shot a reporter and wounded another journalist, according to affidavit for the arrest warrant.
The court document says T’Yonna’s mom was taking a nap when the assailant entered the backyard and then the home. She had told T’Yonna to get her “dance items” together so she could be ready when her father got home. The mother has not been identified by law enforcement.
The mother “said she woke up to T’Yonna Major yelling “HE SHOT ME!” as she ran into her room and jumped into her bed,” Det. Brian Savelli of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office writes in the court document.
When the mother woke up, she heard two gunshots and “felt she was shot in the arm,” the document continues. The mother then grabbed her daughter and barricaded in the bathroom until emergency responders arrived.
Both were taken to a hospital, where the child died. The court document says T’Yonna was shot twice in the torso.
Two journalists for Spectrum News 13 in Orlando who were covering the initial shooting were targeted with gunfire as the assailant left the home, the document says — making an adjustment to a timeline of the three incidents previously released by the sheriff’s office.
According to the affidavit, minutes after the news crew arrived, reporter Dylan Lyons was shot while in the front passenger seat of the crew’s Ford Escape. He died at a hospital less than an hour later. The station, a CNN affiliate, said Lyons was 24 years old.
Photojournalist Jesse Walden was found wounded by the trunk of the SUV, deputies said. Authorities in the initial aftermath had said the journalists were shot before the girl and her mother.
Nathacha Augustin, 38, was killed in the initial shooting, about five hours before the other slayings. She was found lying outside a Hyundai sedan that had been driven by Moses’ cousin, the affidavit says.
According to a previous affidavit, the cousin said he was driving around with the woman in his car and had offered Moses a ride. The suspect entered the rear passenger side and sat behind the woman.
Less than a minute later, the cousin said he “heard a loud bang,” that affidavit says. The suspect fled when the driver pulled over to call 911, the court document says.
The new arrest affidavit adds that T’Yonna described her killer to responding deputies and one witness shared cell phone video of the gunman.
Moses, 19, was taken into custody about 20 minutes after the shootings at the third scene, the affidavit’s timeline says. Investigators recovered a Glock .40 caliber pistol used in the shooting spree, authorities have said.
Additional charges
Moses initially pleaded not guilty to one charge of first-degree murder. Authorities on Tuesday added two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first degree murder and burglary charges. Moses was scheduled to appear in court but his attorney waived his right due to “behavior.”
On a form called “Advice to defendant, first appearance” the line for Moses’ signature has “unable to sign” filled in.
“It was extremely important to bring these charges forward,” Sheriff John Mina said at a press conference Tuesday. Authorities have not discovered a motive and the affidavit says.
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CNN’s Nouran Salahieh, Holly Yan, Michelle Watson, Ray Sanchez, Melissa Alonso and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
