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Reporter shot dead during live television broadcast
Home>News>US News
Published 17:14 17 Dec 2023 GMT

Reporter shot dead during live television broadcast

Chilling footage showed a gunman shooting journalist Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward live on air

Kit Roberts

Kit Roberts

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Featured Image Credit: WDBJ7

Topics: Crime, Gun Crime, News, US News, Racism

Kit Roberts
Kit Roberts

Kit joined UNILAD in 2023 as a community journalist. They have previously worked for StokeonTrentLive, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Star.

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Harrowing footage shows the moment that a young journalist and cameraman were shot dead during a live broadcast.

Alison Parker was a 24-year-old reporter for CBS Roanoke affiliate WDBJ7, and had been out on an assignment with 27-year-old camera operator, Adam Ward.

The pair had been conducting and filming interviews near Moneta, Virginia on August 26, 2015 when a gunman approached and shot them both dead live on air.

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The suspect was Vester Flanagan, who used the on-air name Bryce Williams, who killed himself hours later after a police manhunt.

Flanagan was let go from WDBJ prior to shooting.

WDBJ's president and general manager, Jeffrey Marks, said Flanagan was the first person he thought of when he heard about the tragic incident.

Marks said at the time: "He left here in a cloud ... We asked him to leave and that itself was difficult."

Alison had been interviewing Vicki Gardner, the Executive Director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, just moments before the shots were fired killing her and Adam.

Vicki was also injured in the attack.

Alison Parker and Adam Ward were killed during a live broadcast.
CNN

In the aftermath of the attack, a video showing the first person perspective of the shooter was posted to an account under the name Bryce Williams.

They accused Alison of being 'racist' and complained that she had once sent him 'to HR'.

In a statement at the time, Alison's father Andy said: "Barbara, Drew, and I are numb, devastated and I find my grief unbearable.

"Alison was our bright, shining light and it was cruelly extinguished by yet another crazy person with a gun. She excelled at everything she did and was loved by everyone she touched.

"She loved us dearly, and we talked to her every single day. Not hearing her voice again crushes my soul.

"Our family can only take solace in the fact that although her life was brief, she was so happy with it. She lived it to the fullest and her spirit will always be with us."

Adam Ward had also recently got engaged to producer Melissa Ott, who witnessed the shooting from the station's control room. Her wedding dress arrived the same day that Adam was killed.

The pair had worked as a team for the morning show.
CNN

Paying tribute to Adam and Alison, anchor Kim MCBroom said in a subsequent broadcast: “They were special people. They’d brighten up a room every morning.”

Staff on the station also held a moment's silence for their colleagues the day after their tragic deaths.

The shooting was condemned by then President Barack Obama. The president told WPVI's Monica Malpass: "It breaks my heart every time you read or hear about these kinds of incidents."

He added: "What we know is that the number of people who die from gun-related incidents around this country dwarfs any deaths that happen through terrorism."

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