ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are considering a new bill that aims to connect local law enforcement agencies with educational institutions to immediately trigger lockdowns in the event of an active threat.
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The bill comes mostly as a response to the tragic 2023 killing 9-year-old T’yonna Major.
On the night of February 22, 2023, 19-year-old Keith Moses went on a shooting spree, injuring two and killing three, including Spectrum 13 News reporter Dylan Lyons and Major. T’yonna’s mother, Brandi, was also shot in their Pine Hills home and survived.
READ: Fundraisers created to support families of slain reporter Dylan Lyons, 9-year-old T’yonna Major
“When [Moses came in our back door and] he saw T’yonna, he shot my beautiful daughter, for no reason at all,” her father, Tokiyo Major, wrote on the family’s GoFundMe page. “As T’yonna ran to her mother, her mother sought to protect her, shielding her. The monster kept firing and shot T’yonna again, and he shot my beautiful wife as well. Senseless gun violence has taken the life of my little girl, T’yonna Major. She was a light to everyone that knew her. She was everything to us. We are heartbroken.”
READ: ‘Forever broken’: Families of Dylan Lyons, T’Yonna Major bond over loss, call for change
The proposed SB 814 aims to require a “local law enforcement agency to activate the emergency alert system and issue a Ya Ya Alert to public and private schools and child care facilities.” It would also ensure that agencies keep a detailed roster of schools within their jurisdiction.
The bill is supported by members of Moms Demand Action, the Ya Ya Dream Foundation, and Senators Shevrin D. Jones, LaVon Bracy Davis, and Carlos Guillermo Smith, and has been dubbed the ‘Ya Ya Act’ as a tribute to T’yonna, whose nickname among her family was ‘Ya Ya.’
READ: Attorneys discuss lawsuit against sheriff’s office after 3 killed in Pine Hills mass shooting
“This bill will ensure that law enforcement moves immediately,” Senator Jones said at a press conference, “not after paperwork, not after confusion, but when lives are already at risk.”
With Florida’s legislative session already underway and the bill having not had an initial committee hearing, the families affected by the shooting hope the bill is passed quickly so that such tragedies do not repeat themselves.
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