.jpg)
The father of journalist Alison Parker has admitted that it felt like his life was 'over' when he learned of the death of his daughter.
Alison, who was 24 at the time of her death, was just doing her job as a TV journalist in Roanoke, Virginia in 2015 when shots were fired in her direction.
She was filming a live segment at the time, and countless people have now watched the footage showing the moment the fatal shooting took place.
Advert
Alison's cameraman, 27-year-old Adam Ward, was also killed in the gunfire, which was carried out by one of their former co-workers.
Alison's father, Andy Parker, has never watched the footage and later made it his mission to remove it from social media. He's also fighting against gun violence, and he continues to speak out about Alison's story in hopes of enacting change.
As part of his desire to raise awareness, Andy appeared on In the Know with Moe where he reflected on Alison's murder, recalling how he called his daughter when he heard about the shooting and was terrified to get her voicemail.
Advert
"That was not like her," he said. "We talked every day, so the fact that I could not reach her, I knew in my heart of hearts that something was terribly wrong."
Andy and his wife learned of their daughter's death from the news director, and described it as a moment that 'rips your soul out'.
"It's a gut punch, it's everything horrific that you could think of all rolled up into one," he said.
Advert
The dad described experiencing shock, anger and heartbreak - and remembered having to think about what he was going to do with 'the rest of [his] shattered life'.
"For me, it was kind of like 'well, it's over'," he said.
Andy knew he could handle the situation in one of two ways - either 'curl up in the foetal position and drink yourself to death', or 'do something meaningful'.
Knowing he had to honor his daughter, Andy chose the latter.
Advert
The dad wanted to make it his mission to help other families avoid the same pain that he'd felt over losing his daughter, and now runs a website called 'Andy's Fight' which he uses to help spread his message.
He calls on the public to help support candidates in government who 'will do what needs to be done to protect our families', and continues to push for law changes to reduce gun violence in the U.S.
Emily Brown