A Florida reporter broke down Wednesday night during an emotional live broadcast about the murder of another local journalist killed in a quadruple shooting earlier in the evening.
“I apologize,” WESH reporter Luana Munoz said on air as she attempted to stifle tears. “This is really difficult to cover… This is every reporter’s absolute worst nightmare. We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur and that is what happened here.”
Munoz was reporting live from outside the hospital where one Spectrum News 13 journalist was pronounced dead and another remained in critical condition after they were both shot while reporting on an earlier homicide.
The suspected gunman, 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, is accused of shooting a 20-year-old woman dead in Pine Hills around 11 a.m. and then returning to the scene five hours later when he allegedly shot the two journalists, a 9-year-old girl and her mother.
The child also died, while her mother was “fighting for her life,” Orange County Sheriff John Mina said.
Munoz said the slain reporter’s family members and fiancée were gathered outside Orlando Regional Medical Center with members of the media — calling the scene “very emotional.”
“So again we are at Orlando Regional Medical Center where we have learned that one of our own, a fellow reporter, has died while out covering a shooting,” she said. “There are members of his family here along with his fiancée who are just incredibly distraught tonight.”
“But I will say this it is nice to see all the media, we come together in solidarity in this moment.”
The Spectrum News 13 team of journalists, meanwhile, continued to do their jobs reporting the news when their own co-worker’s tragedy became the biggest news story of the day.
“Our hearts are heavy. We lost an incredible young journalist and human. Too young,” News 13 anchor Greg Angel said on Twitter. “Our hearts are heavy for their family. And our colleague’s family still fighting. For the loss of a 9-year-old girl and her mom and their family.”
News 13 reporter Celeste Springer provided an emotional live update from outside the hospital, where her colleague was receiving treatment.
“This is extremely devastating for all of us, but I’m proud to have such an amazing team backing all of us,” Springer said on air. “We really are such an incredible family here tonight and of course, we’re all praying for our news member who’s in the hospital right now.”
“A couple hours ago before we learned that our news member had passed away, we all sat in a circle here and said a quick prayer and all I can ask for anyone watching at home right now is please, please say a prayer tonight for our coworker who is in critical condition and while you’re at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country,” she said, tearing up.
The Orlando station’s anchors said other reporters witnessed the attack on their news team and ran to their aid while delivering the news on air.
Curtis McCloud, a News 13 anchor and investigative reporter, was reporting from the scene of the shootings.
“So many thoughts…so many feelings- emotions…Prayers tonight for everyone impacted by this tragedy,” he tweeted. “My heart goes out to our own Spectrum News 13 family. Much love. Always.”
Another news reporter from the same station thanked those who reached out to offer support.
“Today has not been easy. Many of us lost more than a colleague today,” Asher Wildman said. “But, I can’t tell you how much it has meant to me and my News 13 family members who have reached out just to ask if we are ok. I appreciate it. Now prayers needed for two more fighting for their lives.”
Spectrum meteorologist Zach Covey said he was heartbroken by the devastating loss.
“Gun violence NEEDS to end!” he tweeted. “We lost a member of our family today. We spend more time with these people at work than our own families. They’re more than just coworkers! NOBODY should have to go to work worried about losing their life.”
Spectrum News said Wednesday night that it was not currently releasing the identities of its two crew members who were shot.
“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,” Spectrum’s parent company Charter Communications said in a statement. “This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community.”
Some said the tragedy reminded them of the 2018 Capital Gazette mass shooting in which a gunman killed five employees and injured two more in the Maryland paper’s newsroom or the 2015 murders of WDBJ journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward. Both news publications covered the stories of their own team members killed at the time.
“I have a Capital Gazette t-shirt – the Annapolis Maryland newspaper that was the target of a mass shooting some years ago – that has a statement from their editor “We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow,” a sign of their determination in the face of loss,” William Tulloch tweeted. “This feels the same.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was appalled by the killing and stands in solidarity with the Spectrum newsroom in a statement Wednesday night.
“It is deeply disturbing that a journalist was killed while covering the gun violence that has become a sickening reality of living in the United States,” said CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Reporters must be able to cover the news without having to fear for their lives.”