Family Of Murdered Reporter Suing Station

The family of Dylan Lyons, the Spectrum News 13 Orlando Reporter killed in a 2023 shooting spree, has filed a lawsuit accusing his station of negligence.

This legal action raises questions about the responsibility of news organizations to protect journalists covering violent crime.

Lyons was among several TV news crews covering the killing of Natacha Augustin, back in Februaryof 2023.

He was fatally shot while sitting in the news van. Police say Keith Moses, who also shot News 13 Photographer Jesse Walden.

“It could have happened to any of you,” Mark NeJame, whose law firm filed the suit, told Reporters covering the story.

News 13’s parent company, Charter Communications, had the responsibility to provide staff with proper safety equipment while working in the field. The lawsuit further argued that the company should have conducted “an appropriate risk assessment” before sending Lyons to Pine Hills, where Augustin’s killer was believed to be at large. “We’re talking about having a security guard or being given a basic bulletproof vest you can buy on Amazon,” said Ryan Vescio, one of NeJame’s legal partners.

The legal filing comes ahead of a related lawsuit expected to be presented next week, accusing the Orange County Sheriff’s Office of wrongful death. A spokesperson for Spectrum News called Lyons’ death “an unforeseeable and horrible tragedy” but pushed back against the claims mentioned in the lawsuit.

H/T Orlando Sentinel