‘A happy soul’: Family remembers 24-year-old reporter killed in Orlando shooting

by: Rachel Tucker

Posted: Feb 23, 2023 / 07:50 AM CST

Updated: Feb 23, 2023 / 07:50 AM CST

ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) — Instead of preparing to celebrate his 25th birthday next month, the family of a slain Orlando journalist is raising money to cover funeral costs.

Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons was killed while sitting in his news vehicle near a homicide scene Wednesday.

Keith Moses, 19, was accused of walking up to the vehicle and shooting two people: Lyons and a News 13 photojournalist, who was rushed to an Orlando hospital in critical condition.

In a GoFundMe fundraiser organized by Dylan Lyons’ sister, Rachel Lyons, she described her younger brother as “our baby.”

“He was a happy soul and wonderful person in life,” Rachel Lyons wrote. “He was taken too early from us.”

Originally from Philadelphia, Dylan Lyons first moved to the Orlando area to attend the University of Central Florida. He worked at WCJB in Gainesville for more than two years before moving back home to join the News 13 team.

Rachel Lyons said her brother was devoted to his family and acted as a father figure for his niece and nephew. He was engaged to be married and would have turned 25 years old in March.

His funeral is scheduled for early next month, according to the GoFundMe page.