The 9-year-old Florida girl killed in the shooting rampage Wednesday was remembered by her devastated family as an excellent student, “amazing gymnast” and “true joy” whose life was cut short by “senseless violence.”
T’yonna Major, 9, was killed and her mom, Brandi Major, was wounded by Keith Moses, 19, after he opened fire on a Spectrum 13 news crew.
The journalists were covering an earlier murder in Orlando’s Pine Hills neighborhood, where Moses allegedly shot and killed a 38-year-old acquaintance named Nathacha Augustin
Reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, was killed and photographer Jesse Walden was injured, authorities said.
Phyllis Turner, T’yonna’s maternal great-aunt, told NBC News that the tragic girl was “the apple of her parents’ eye — she was just a true joy to them.”
She said T’yonna was an “extremely smart” student at Pine Hills Elementary School who was at the top of her class and also “an amazing gymnast.”
T’yonna Major, 9, who was killed in the shooting rampage in Florida, was remembered by her family as an excellent student, “amazing gymnast” and “true joy.”GoFundMe
Her coach wanted to “really take her under her wing” because she believed she had the potential to compete in college and even “go to the Olympics,” Turner told the outlet.
“She was a perfectionist. She didn’t like second and third place,” Turner said. “She just believed in excelling in everything she did.”
She said T’yonna also was a “funny little girl” who “brought so much joy and laughter to everybody,” adding that her parents are “absolutely devastated” by the incomprehensible loss.
Turner said Brandi was shot in the arm and has been released from the hospital.
Jesse Walden, the Spectrum News photojournalist injured in Wednesday’s shooting.Linktree/@Jessewalden Dylan Lyons, the Spectrum 13 journalist killed in the rampage.AP
Dad Tokiyo Major wrote in a GoFundMe post that T’yonna was “a light to everyone that knew her,” adding, “She was everything to us. Senseless violence has taken the life of my little girl.”
Neighbor Thermon Patterson, 66, told NBC News that he saw Major rush out into the street crying for help after T’yonna was shot.
He said he didn’t see the gunman but felt he could have easily been targeted because he often sits outside his nearby home.
“I’m glad he’s off the street,” Patterson said about Moses.
Pine Hills Elementary School Principal Latonya Smothers said T’yonna was a “kind and beautiful young girl with an infectious smile. She will be missed dearly.”
She added in the message: “I know I speak for our entire Pine Hills community when I express the grief that we feel at the loss of one of our own.”
Keith Moses, 19, has been charged with second-degree murder and additional counts are expected.Getty Images
Moses was charged with second-degree murder related to Augustin’s death, but additional charges are expected.
The “known gang member” has a lengthy criminal record that includes arrests for theft, battery-domestic violence and armed robbery, NBC News reported.
State Attorney Monique Worrell said Moses had a single arrest since becoming an adult, a 2021 marijuana possession charge that was later dropped.
A woman has gone viral on TikTok after revealing that her Hinge date left to go “move his car” seconds after meeting her in a sports bar — only to never come back.
Florida native Rachel Wilson said that she then received a text from the man saying, “Sorry wasn’t feeling it,” complete with a sad face emoji.
The TikTok has gained nearly 4 million views since it was posted last month.
According to Wilson, she was supposed to meet the fella who drove away at the bar for “chicken wings and a beer.” Wilson said that she waited outside the bar before she received the text informing her that he took off.
“I stood in front of the restaurant waiting for about five minutes before I got the text,” said the 28-year-old. “I didn’t respond and immediately deleted his number and have heard no word from him since.”
Florida native Rachel Wilson said that she then received a text from the man saying “Sorry wasn’t feeling it” complete with a sad face emoji. Jam Press Vid/@raychfayce Wilson said that she waited outside the bar for almost five minutes before she received the text. Jam Press Vid/@raychfayce
Wilson was left baffled by the sudden disappearance of her date since she didn’t pick up on any sketchy behavior while they were chatting on the app.
Despite the fleeting feelings, Wilson stated the small hiccup will not send her on a detour to find love.
Wilson also said that while the date took a left turn into nothing, she is happy that they made plans.
“I liked that he made solid plans right off the bat,” stated the jilted lover. “I hate when you meet someone on a dating app and talk back and forth forever, with no solid plans to meet.”
Several of Wilson’s followers weighed in on the date.
“At least he texted you. Many would have blocked you and left,” stated one user.
“I had a guy fake having MS 5mins into mine. Happened last week,” said another.
“I saw my gym crush on Hinge. He lived 15 mins away from me but told me he couldn’t do long distance,” sympathized a third person. “I still would see him at the gym before I moved.”
“I mean technically he did move his car,” one person joked. “Away from you, the restaurant, and closer to his house.”
A Florida man reportedly fended off a bobcat attack on his daughter’s dog by swinging his fists, clocking the wild animal in the face.
Paul Broadhurst told Fox 32 Orlando that he was walking the dog, Koda, on Feb. 11 in the Stoneybrook neighborhood of East Orlando when the bobcat pounced.
“He got away lucky,” Broadhurst said about the family pet who was uninjured during the attack.
“This is a very high-traffic area,” Broadhurst explained. “People walk their dogs, and have their kids, there are small kids in area 1-, 2-, 3-year-olds and if the bobcat got on them, it would be a bad outcome.”
Paul Broadhurst was walking Koda at the time of the attack. FOX 35 Orlando
Paul Broadhurst says he was left with scratches from the encounter. FOX 35 Orlando
Advertisement
Paul Broadhurst said the attack happened at a high traffic area where people walk their dogs. FOX 35 Orlando
Paul Broadhurst said Koda got away lucky. FOX 35 Orlando
Advertisement
Broadhurst’s home is next to a conservation area and Environmental Education Awareness Research Support’s Frank Robb suggested that people walking their pets should carry an object like a walking stick that they can put between their pets and any animal that is rabid or looking for food.
“When homes get built these wild areas are being taken away, you’re going to see more conflict like this with wildlife,” Robb said. “Be aware of your surroundings and know where you live.”
In November 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis made history in Florida: winning by nearly 1.5 million votes in a state known for its “razor thin” election margins.
His platform was equally historic and, contrary to what is going on in other parts of the United States, focused on freedom. By enacting policies to keep progressive politics and woke ideology out of the classroom, taking back Disney’s self-governance and tax breaks, and keeping his state open during the pandemic, the Yale-educated former Naval officer has gained national attention and hundreds of thousands of new residents to Florida.
My first term as governor was a whirlwind. I rejected using polls as a guide for governance because leadership is about shaping public opinion, not merely reacting to it. I made sure to be an active, energetic executive who leaned into issues and was consistently on offense.
DeSantis found his voice while leaning into issues during the coronavirus pandemic.Justin Merriman for NY Post
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, I consumed the data myself and made decisions that bucked conventional wisdom. We also refused to bow down to the woke mob and fought ideological capture of our schools and fought back against big corporations that pursued a leftist agenda.
We were met with fierce opposition from legacy media outlets every step of the way. But we stood our ground. We did not back down. Clearly, our administration was substantively consequential. How effective, though, was this as a political matter? We in Florida can lead the way on important issues and deliver historic results, but this might not be a blueprint for others to follow if it led to electoral failure.
The governor won his second election by a record-setting 1.5 million votes in a state known for razor-thin election margins.Getty Images
The November 2022 election provided the answer. While winning reelection was not something that was guaranteed, the odds seemed good at the outset. After winning roughly half the vote in 2018 as an unknown commodity, it was obvious, based on four years of interactions with Floridians from all walks of life, that my support had only grown since then, especially after our battles to protect Floridians from mandates and school closures during the coronavirus pandemic.
At the same time, major Florida elections had typically been decided by razor-thin margins. Prior to me becoming governor in 2019, the state’s marquee races during the decade — gubernatorial elections in 2010, 2014, and 2018 and presidential elections in 2012 and 2016 — had all been decided by a single percentage point, or less. Winning by 5% would represent a “landslide” victory for a top-of-the-ticket candidate in Florida.
Gov. DeSantis signs HB7, dubbed the “Stop Woke” bill.AP
The political complexion of the in-migration to the state during my administration, especially after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, was positive. Prior to my becoming governor, Republicans had always had a voter registration disadvantage vis-à-vis the Democrats in Florida, yet by the November 2022 election Republicans led Democrats by 306,000 voter registrations — a 2% registration advantage. Many of these new voters moved to Florida due to our policies.
As we came down the stretch of the campaign, publicly released polls showed me with a double-digit lead. Because this seemed out of character for Florida, political insiders assumed that I would win, but only in the range of 6-9% — a significant victory margin given recent history, but not quite the double-digit margin that would be historic. As election day arrived, my campaign was optimistic that we would earn a big victory. In fact, we amassed the greatest Republican gubernatorial victory in Florida history, a near twenty-point landslide the likes of which had not been seen in Florida in a generation.
DeSantis said he was able to win, and by a wide margin, by “taking the road less traveled” in the face of spreading progressivism.Justin Merriman for NY Post
It was a dominating performance that saw us winning independent voters by more than 15 percentage points, winning nearly 60% of Hispanic voters, winning a majority of women voters, and winning the highest percentage of black voters of any Republican gubernatorial candidate in modern Florida history.
We notched an 11 percentage point win in Miami-Dade County, which is 70% Hispanic and which Hillary Clinton carried over Donald Trump in 2016 by a whopping 30 percentage points. We were the first Republican to win the county in a governor’s race in 20 years.
While there had been chatter leading up to the election that Miami-Dade was in play, few were talking about the possibility that we could win the traditional Democrat bastion of Palm Beach County. Yet, we ended up being the first Republican to win Palm Beach in a governor’s race in nearly 40 years.
DeSantis’ memoir, “The Courage to Be Free,” is out Feb. 28.
We also garnered unfathomable margins in rural Florida, winning at least 80% of the vote in 16 rural counties — the best rural performance by a Republican governor candidate in state history. Whereas we had won in 2018 by just over 30,000 votes, in 2022 we won by more than 1.5 million votes — the largest raw vote margin of victory in Florida gubernatorial history.
We were able to accomplish these great electoral triumphs by taking the political road less traveled. We spent four years ignoring polls, setting out my vision for the state, successfully implementing that vision, and producing tangible results. From day one, I was fully prepared to let the political chips fall where they may. That we not only succeeded electorally, but did so in dramatic fashion, demonstrates that doing good policy can lead to good politics.
The Florida Blueprint is a simple formula: be willing to lead, have the courage of your convictions, deliver for your constituents, and reap the political rewards. This is a blueprint for America’s revival. We’ve shown it can be done.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis questioned the College Board’s influence over university admissions and high school Advanced Placement courses Monday after clashing with the organization over a black history class earlier this month.
“This College Board, nobody elected them to anything,” DeSantis said at an unrelated news conference. “They are just kind of there and they provide a service, and so you can either utilize those services or not.”
In addition to overseeing the SATs, the organization also administers AP classes that allow students to earn college credits while still in high school.
“There are probably some other vendors who may be able to do that job as good or maybe even a lot better,” the governor added, vowing to examine Florida public schools’ reliance on the College Board.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisTwitter / @GovRonDeSantis
The GOP grassroots favorite initially clashed with the organization after Florida education officials rejected a proposed AP class on black history for use in its schools.
DeSantis argued that the course was being used as a vessel for the promotion of progressive agendas, and asserted again Monday that that it was permeated by “neo-Marxism.”
“In Florida, we do education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis said. “That runs afoul of our standards. Many people agree with that in other states. We were just the only ones to stand up and do it.”
“The College Board was the one that, in a black studies course, put queer theory in, not us,” he added. “They did that. They were the ones that put in intersectionality, they put in other types of neo-Marxism into the proposed syllabus.”
He also argued that the class did not represent the full spectrum of African-American political thought on flashpoint cultural issues.
“People were saying, ‘You know, this really is junk,’” DeSantis said. “Why don’t we just do and teach the things that matter? Why is it always [that] someone has to try to jam their agenda down out throat?”
The class, Florida education officials said, violated the state’s “Stop WOKE Act” that prohibits subject matter like Critical Race Theory.
But critics ripped the the course’s rejection, arguing that DeSantis was restricting academic inquiry and singling out black history for special scrutiny.
The College Board modified the class to address a number of the concerns DeSantis raised, leading some to critique the organization for not retaining the original content.
The College Board administers Advanced Placement classes.Getty Images
The organization again addressed the controversy over the weekend in an open letter, that attempted to walk back its initial concession.
“We deeply regret not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander, magnified by the DeSantis administration’s subsequent comments, that African American Studies ‘lacks educational value.,’” the letter read. “Our failure to raise our voice betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who have long toiled to build this remarkable field.”
Florida officials have emphasized that the teaching of black history is legally required in public schools.
DeSantis, who many believe is positioning himself for a White House run in 2024, said he wasn’t concerned by the potential backlash that would come with challenging the course.
“I”m so sick of people not doing what’s right because they are worried that people are going to call them names,” he said. “We’re doing what’s right here.”
A man has filed a defamation lawsuit against a Florida sheriff who posts weekly “Wheel of Fugitive” videos on social media, saying that he wasn’t a fugitive when his name and image appeared several times in 2021 in the sheriff’s posts inspired by the long-running TV game show “Wheel of Fortune.”
Because of the sheriff’s posts, David Gay lost a job and suffered emotional distress, according to the lawsuit seeking more than $50,000 in damages. The lawsuit was filed last week in state court in Brevard County, along Florida’s Space Coast.
Gay’s prospective boss called him as he was driving to his first day of work and told him not to bother showing up as he had seen Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey’s “Wheel of Fugitive” videos, the lawsuit said.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office on Monday didn’t respond to an emailed inquiry seeking comment about the lawsuit.
In the videos posted to social media, Ivey spins a wheel with photos of what are described as 10 of the county’s most wanted fugitives.
Florida man David Gay is suing Sheriff Wayne Ivey for defamation after he was featured on Ivey’s “Wheel of Fugitives” when he wasn’t a fugitive. AP
Gay was involved in the court system for an undisclosed offense and was sentenced in November 2020 to three years of probation for a withhold of adjudication, a special sentence in which a defendant is not formally convicted of an offense, the lawsuit said.
Gay was taken into custody for violation of probation in January 2021 after he had been arrested several weeks earlier on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. He says he believed his father had gotten into a physical altercation with his mother, and the case was dismissed eventually.
However, while Gay was in jail for the violation of probation arrest, Ivey said in a “Wheel of Fugitive” video that Gay was a fugitive, when in reality he was already in the Brevard County Jail, according to the lawsuit.
Gay was featured in three more episodes of “Wheel of Fugitive,” including on the day after he was sentenced to probation under the same terms that previously had been imposed and was released from custody, the lawsuit said.
Two career criminals are back behind bars after robbing a delivery driver at gunpoint earlier this month.
On Wednesday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office released terrifying dashcam video of two men robbing an Amazon driver at gunpoint in broad daylight on Jan. 13.
In the video, one man is seen holding a gun to the worker’s neck before going into the back of the truck to steal packages. The other man is outside the truck for most of the video, but he pops inside the driver’s side door when his partner goes into the back to take the packages.
The men were later identified as Arkimase Divinard, 22, and Joel Junior Aime, 23.
The sheriff’s office said the Amazon driver was not hurt during the crime.
Divinard and Aime, who both have long criminal histories, share 85 felony charges and 11 felony convictions between the two of them.
The Amazon driver was not injured during the robbery.Orange County Sheriff’s Office
According to Florida jail records, Divinard was most recently sentenced to three years in prison for carjacking without a firearm/deadly weapon. He was released in November 2022. His prior convictions include battery on a person above the age of 65 and robbery without a deadly weapon.
There were no records available in the Florida Department of Corrections database under the name Joel Junior Aime.
“We hope they will stay locked up for a long, long time,” OCSO wrote on social media.
ROBBED AT GUNPOINT: Terrifying video shows 2 brazen criminals robbing a delivery person on 1/13. He was not hurt. They’ve been arrested, thanks to our criminal analysts & robbery detectives. With 85 felony charges & 11 convictions in their history, we hope they stay locked up. pic.twitter.com/cSIoVt3pME
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) January 26, 2023
According to Fox 35 Orlando, a witness flagged down deputies after watching the robbery near the Caden Apartments at 1953 Americana Blvd.
The outlet reported that the Amazon driver told deputies he noticed a Black male standing near the driver’s side of the truck after completing a delivery. When the driver got inside the truck, a second Black male entered the van’s cargo area and demanded the driver give up his belongings while pointing a gun at him.
The second man, who is seen mostly in the video, took the driver’s cell phone and debit cards, and he searched the driver’s pockets for more items. Ten packages were also stolen from the truck.
Both men fled the scene in a white van. After he was identified in the dashcam footage, Aime was later seen in a white Honda van and was arrested.
Arkimase Divinard.Orange County Sheriff’s Office
Joel Aime.Orange County Sheriff’s Office
Divinard was identified by his tattoos. The delivery driver also provided deputies with a screenshot of the Find My iPhone app, which revealed the location of his stolen phone as Divinard’s home address.
Both men have been arrested and are charged with robbery with a firearm, according to the sheriff’s office.
The man charged in connection with the slaying of a Microsoft executive in front of his 2-year-old daughter last year has a direct connection to the slain father’s ex-wife and her new husband, property records show.
Records show Henry Tenon, 61 — who is now facing a murder rap for allegedly killing Jared Bridegan — lived in a home once owned by Mario Fernandez.
Tenon resided at 5239 Potomac Ave. in Jacksonville, Fla., which is listed as being owned by Fernandez, records show.
He had married Shanna Gardner-Fernandez in 2018, two years after she had split from Bridegan, who she had continued to feud with about custody arrangements for their two children long after their divorce.
At a press conference, law enforcement officials pointedly noted that Tenon did not act alone in the murder and that their probe is ongoing.
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez married Mario Fernandez in 2018.momandpaparazzi.com / BACKGRID
Shanna and Mario Fernandez had previously been named suspects in Bridegan’s death, but cops made no link between them and Tenon at a press conference announcing his arrest Wednesday.
Gardner-Fernandez and her new spouse have vehemently denied involvement in Bridegan’s death but retained prominent Jacksonville attorney Henry Coxe III soon after the slaying.
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez with her husband Mario Fernandez.
Records show Henry Tenon lived in a home once owned by Mario Fernandez.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Henry Tenon has been charged in connection to the murder.Jacksonville Police
Her marriage to Bridegan reportedly dissolved after she cheated on him. But despite their court wrangling, in an interview with the Florida Times-Union, Gardner-Fernandez emphatically denied any role in her former spouse’s death.
She acknowledged that she once asked a tattoo parlor employee if he knew anyone who could silence Bridegan but dismissed the remark as an unserious quip.
Gardner-Fernandez, who comes from a wealthy Mormon family, recently decamped from Florida to a property in Richland, Washington that was purchased by her parents.
She has reportedly split from Fernandez, and he did not join her in the move.
Jared Bridegan was killed in front of his 2-year-old daughter.GoFundMe Henry Tenon lived in this home owned by the husband of Bridegan’s ex-wife.Google Maps
Bridegan was gunned down in front of his 2-year-old daughter Bexley in what police have definitively called a planned hit.
The doting dad had four kids, two with Gardner-Fernandez and two with his new wife, Kirsten Bridegan.
A Florida man who was arrested last month has been found to be in possession of a staggering stash of child pornography that detectives have called the “largest they have ever seen.”
Johnathan Jhovanni Hernandez, 23, was busted on Dec. 29 on child porn charges following a months-long investigation after officials received a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
“At that time, we told you the investigation was just getting started and there would likely be more charges,” the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Wednesday.
“What we should have said was there would likely be A LOT more charges — like more than anyone in our county … ever.”
After his arrest at his Avon Park home, police seized 15 electronic devices from Hernandez.
While Hernandez was out on bond, investigators looked through just one of the devices and found enough evidence to charge Hernandez with a jaw-dropping 1,182 additional counts of possession of child pornography as well as four counts of possession of beastiality images, according to the sheriff’s office.
He was arrested again on Tuesday, police said.
Police re-arrested Hernandez after looking through just one of his 15 electronic devices seized during his arrest in December.Highlands County Sheriff’s Office
“There is no telling how many charges he could face if detectives went through all the devices,” police said.
Detectives said it’s the largest collection of child pornography they have ever seen.
Hernandez is being held on a $2.4 million bond. He has enough charges to put him behind bars for life, police said.
Florida cops are searching for two young women who swiped a $25,000 Rolex after a male companion fell asleep during a late night rendezvous at his condo.
The victim told police he met his two provocatively clothed pals outside a rooftop bar in Fort Lauderdale around 3.a.m. Dec. 4, and got into a conversation.
The three exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet later that morning.
Cops are searching for two women who stole a man’s Rolex during a late night rendezvous.Broward Sheriff’s Office
According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the man picked up the women an hour later and drove to his place for cocktails.
Though the man later fell asleep, his conniving companions remained on high alert.
When the man woke up, the pair were missing — along with his Submariner Blueface Rolex watch and a credit card.
The pair stole the timepiece after the man fell asleep.Broward Sheriff’s Office
Police released surveillance footage of the timepiece temptresses from the bar, describing them as both in their mid-twenties with long black hair.
One of them sported a scorpion tattoo on her left thigh, officials added.
Cops are appealing for the public’s help in tracking down the time thieves.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
