ORLANDO, Fla. – Nearly three years after 9-year-old T’Yonna “Ya Ya” Major was shot and killed in a 2023 shooting spree in Pine Hills, her family is pushing for a new statewide alert system aimed at protecting children during active and imminent threats.
Major’s family traveled to the Florida Capitol on Wednesday to advocate for what’s being called a “Ya Ya Alert,” a proposal designed to strengthen communication between law enforcement, schools and child-care facilities during emergencies.
“We must protect our children,” a family member said during a news conference. “And that’s what Ya Ya is about. And that’s what the Ya Ya Alert will do.”
Major was killed in February of 2023 when a gunman, identified by law enforcement as Keith Moses, shot her in her home. Her mother, Brandi Major, was also shot but survived.
Major was one of three people killed, allegedly by Moses that day. The other two victims were 38-year-old Natacha Augustin and Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons.
[WATCH: 9-year-old killed in shooting was student at Pine Hills Elementary School]
The bills, HB 715 and SB 814, would require law enforcement to activate the emergency alert system to notify public and private schools and child care facilities of an imminent threat.
Law enforcement agencies would be required to keep a list of all schools and child care facilities in their jurisdiction.
If the agency believes a suspect in a homicide or a serious assault is still at large and an imminent threat, the agency is required to alert all schools and facilities within at least a three-mile radius of the incident location.
The agency is also required to released the information related to the alert to other law enforcement agencies and media outlets.
Supporters say faster communication could prevent families from unknowingly sending children into dangerous situations.
Major’s aunt, Angel Grantley, said the effort is about sparing other families from similar loss.
“We don’t want anybody to go through what we are going through,” Grantley said.
Grantley said while her family could not save T’Yonna, advocating for the alert system gives purpose to their grief.
“The one person we couldn’t save was her,” Grantley said. “So to save another child or to help another family be saved — that means more to us than anything.”
The House bill is sponsored by State Rep. RaShon Young, D-Orlando. The Senate bill is sponsored by State Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens.
“Every minute without an alert is a minute where parents are dropping off their kids, teachers are opening classroom doors and child-care workers are welcoming children without knowing what’s happening just blocks away,” Jones said.
Critics of the law enforcement response in the Keith Moses case claim the Orange County Sheriff’s Office should have notified the community that they were still searching for Moses and that he was dangerous.
[WATCH: Attorneys discuss lawsuit over ‘preventable deaths’ in Pine Hills]
“Everybody is needed in this,” Grantley said. “This is a community affair. It’s not just Pine Hills, not just Orlando — it’s Florida.”
The families of the victims in the Keith Moses case, including Major’s family, are suing the sheriff’s office over that perceived lack of communication.
Neither bill has been heard in its assigned committees yet, which is a key step in getting passed.