Killing of Dylan Lyons explained

Birth Name:Dylan Colby Lyons
Birth Date:11 March 1998
Birth Place:Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:Pine Hills, Florida, U.S.
Dylan Lyons
Occupation:Journalist, news reporter
Employer:Spectrum News 13
Education:University of Central Florida
WCJB

Dylan Colby Lyons (March 11, 1998 – February 22, 2023) was an American television news reporter for Spectrum News 13 in Orlando, Florida. He was fatally shot while reporting from the scene of a homicide in a Pine Hills neighborhood.

Early life and career

A graduate of the University of Central Florida with degrees in journalism and political science, Lyons reported and anchored for the UCF Knightly News. He reported and anchored for WCJB, an ABC affiliate in Gainesville.[1]

Killing

On February 22, 2023, Lyons was part of a news crew reporting from Pine Hills in Orange County on the fatal shooting of Nathacha Augustin that had happened earlier in the day.[2] 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses (born June 11, 2003), the suspect in the prior shooting and an Orlando native, returned to the crime scene and shot Lyons and Spectrum News photographer Jesse Walden, then went to a nearby home and shot Brandi Major and her 9-year-old daughter, T'Yonna Major.[3] Police later arrested Moses, who had been an acquaintance of Augustin.[1] Lyons and T'Yonna Major died, while Brandi Major and Walden were critically injured but survived.[4] Moses had a criminal record dating back to 2018 but was never imprisoned as he was a minor at the time.[5]

In addition to his immediate family, Lyons left behind a fiancé, Casey Lynn.[2] A GoFundMe page was set up by the Orlando community and Dylan's sister Rachel to cover the funeral expenses of Lyons and Major.[6]

The killing of Dylan Lyons was condemned by the Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay in a press-release published on March 1, 2023.[7] UNESCO’s mandate to “promote the free flow of ideas by word and image” includes the protection of journalists and media workers against any forms of attacks and reprisals related to their duties.[8] [9] The facts and circumstances surrounding this killing are categorized and archived online on UNESCO’s Observatory of Killed Journalists.[10] The Observatory archives publicly accessible information on all the journalists killed in relation to their duties since 1997, where the Director-General has issued a condemnation.

Notes and References

  1. News: TV journalist from Philly among those killed in Orlando shooting. Associated Press. WHYY.org. David. Fischer. Freida. Frisaro. February 22, 2023. February 23, 2023. February 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230223160710/https://whyy.org/articles/orlando-shooting-reporter-dylan-lyons-spectrum-news-13-philadelphia/. live.
  2. News: Da Silva . Chantal . Burke . Minyvonne . Siemaszko . Corky . TV journalist killed while reporting on Florida shooting . 11 April 2023 . NBC News . 23 February 2023 . en . February 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224012055/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/journalist-killed-florida-shooting-identified-dylan-lyons-rcna71921 . live .
  3. News: Florida family remembers 9-year-old who was fatally shot as 'amazing gymnast' and 'a true joy'. Daniella. Silva. Rob. Wile. NBC News. February 23, 2023. March 1, 2023. February 28, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230228235522/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-family-remembers-9-year-old-was-fatally-shot-amazing-gymnast-t-rcna72036. live.
  4. News: 'He kept shooting at me,' photographer wounded in Florida shooting says. Phil. Heisel. NBC News. February 23, 2023. February 23, 2023. February 24, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230224015929/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/-kept-shooting-photographer-wounded-florida-shooting-says-rcna72120. live.
  5. News: Here's what we know about the suspect in the deadly Pine Hills shootings. WKMG-TV. Anthony. Talcott. February 22, 2023. February 26, 2023. February 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230225074304/https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/02/23/heres-what-we-know-about-the-suspect-in-the-deadly-pine-hills-shootings/. live.
  6. News: Dylan Lyons, a 24-year-old TV journalist, was killed while reporting on a shooting. Rachel. Treisman. WSIU. February 22, 2023. February 23, 2023. February 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230223160632/https://www.wsiu.org/2023-02-23/dylan-lyons-a-24-year-old-tv-journalist-was-killed-while-reporting-on-a-shooting. live.
  7. Web site: 1 March 2023 . Director-General condemns killing of broadcast journalist Dylan Lyons in the United States of America . 12 June 2023 . UNESCO.
  8. Web site: Communication and Information service of the UNESCO details . 12 June 2023.
  9. Web site: Safety of journalist . 13 June 2023.
  10. Web site: Observatory of killed journalists of the UNESCO . 13 June 2023.