A new report obtained by Law and Crime has revealed that the family of slain Spectrum News reporter Dylan Lyons is claiming the company put him in harm's way during an active shooter incident in Florida. According to the report, the family states that the company did not provide the man with training on what to do.
The outlet stated that Spectrum News 13 — parent company Charter Communications — reportedly had Lyons and photojournalist Jesse Walden covering an at-large shooter who killed Nathacha Augustin, 38, when the shooter, later identified as Keith Moses, returned to the crime scene to ambush the men.
Officers with the Orange County Sheriff's Department stated that Moses, 21, managed to kill Lyons and left Walden in critical condition. Prior to the men's arrival, Moses had forced his way into the home of a mother and her 9-year-old daughter, T’Yonna, who was killed by the man.
The case against Moses for the child's murder is still ongoing. Lyons’ father, Gary Lyons, filed the lawsuit which complains that Charter Communications sent reporters into harm’s way “without appropriate security measures, choices, or proper consideration of their well-being.”
Defendant SPECTRUM employs news reporters and videographers, such as Plaintiff LYONS, to go to active crime scenes involving violence and provide coverage,” they wrote. “However, although Defendant SPECTRUM requires travel to high-crime areas, Defendant SPECTRUM does not provide said reporters and videographers with any personal protection measures or security personnel.”
The outlet reports that the lawsuit is claiming negligence, virtual certainty, concealed danger, and gross negligence.“At all times material hereto, Defendant SPECTRUM had a non-delegable duty to provide sufficient and reoccurring journalism safety training to Plaintiff LYONS and other reasonably foreseeable persons associated with their employment as news reporters reporting on active news events in the public,” they wrote.
It was also reported that NeJame Law, the firm representing the Lyons family, has promised to sue the Orange County Sheriff’s Office next week due to their part in the shooting spree. Spectrum News issued a statement saying they were very upset regarding the loss of life.
“Dylan’s murder was an unforeseeable and horrible tragedy,” Spectrum News said in a statement to Law&Crime on Wednesday. “We hope that Keith Moses, who has been charged, will soon be brought to justice for the murder of Dylan and the others that day. With regard to these specific allegations, Dylan was the victim of a senseless act of violence. The claims against Spectrum News are unfounded and we will seek to have them dismissed.”
The outlet stated that police officials have yet to issue a statement about the impending charges. The lawsuit comes after a Missouri mom was branded a "monster" after she allegedly gunned down her estranged husband, left one of her children home alone with the body, and drove across state lines to shoot another ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend.
