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Orange County Sheriff John Mina: "We don't know why he broke into her house"
Photo: Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/AP
A gunman fired on two TV journalists covering a murder near Orlando in Florida on Wednesday.
According to the police, a TV reporter died and his colleague was injured.
The perpetrator then shot a nine-year-old girl in a nearby house and wounded her mother.
The two injured are in critical condition at a local hospital.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said the suspected shooter was caught near the scene shortly after the Pine Hill shooting.
The arrested 19-year-old is said to have killed a young woman a few hours earlier - the case reported by TV journalists from cable TV station Spectrum News 13.
Long criminal record
The suspect was armed with a pistol when arrested, the sheriff said.
He has a long criminal record that includes arrests for gun offenses, aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand larceny.
So far, no motive for the deadly shots has been determined, said Mina.
The alleged perpetrator was an acquaintance of the first victim.
"But as far as we know, he had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother or the nine-year-old girl," the sheriff said.
"And we don't know why he broke into her house."
He also doesn't know if the two journalists were targeted because they were journalists, Mina said.
For example, their car lacked the logos and markings normally seen on a news vehicle.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted a message of condolences: "Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the injured crew member in Orange County, Fla., as well as the entire Spectrum News team."
In addition, "our hearts are also with the other victims, their families and the entire community".
Too many lives would be torn apart by gun violence.
wit/Reuters/AP
