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Journalists mourn murdered colleagues

Author
AAP ,
Publish Date
Fri, 28 Aug 2015, 5:33AM

Journalists mourn murdered colleagues

Author
AAP ,
Publish Date
Fri, 28 Aug 2015, 5:33AM

Staff at a television station in Virginia have observed a moment of silence for two co-workers who were shot dead during a live broadcast by a disgruntled ex-colleague.

The killings of reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, as they conducted an on-air interview has prompted renewed calls for tougher US gun control measures.

The shooter - Vester Lee Flanagan, 41, also known as Bryce Williams - fatally shot himself after fleeing the scene. He sent a rambling manifesto to ABC News, saying he was a "human powder keg... just waiting to go BOOM!"

"We will, over time, heal from this," said a grief-stricken morning anchor, Kimberly McBroom, holding hands with two colleagues on the set.

The moment of silence at WDBJ, a CBS affiliate in Roanoke, Virginia, about 385km southwest of Washington, came at 6:45 am, the exact time that Parker and Ward were shot and killed at close range.

Photos of the slain journalists were displayed on-air during the tribute to them.
Ward captured a chilling image of the gunman as he fell to the ground - all of it watched live by a stunned newsroom and viewers at home.

"It breaks my heart every time you read or hear about these kinds of incidents," President Barack Obama told an ABC affiliate in Philadelphia.

Outside the studio gates, bouquets of flowers and shiny remembrance balloons were placed under a tree wrapped with two black mourning ribbons. Viewers and local residents came by to pay their respects.

"She was looking forward to life. I was looking forward to a life with her," WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst, Parker's boyfriend, told NBC News.

Parker was talking to Vicki Gardner, head of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, early on Wednesday at the lakeside Bridgewater Resort in the town of Moneta near Roanoke when the attack occurred.

Several shots were heard, as well as screams, as Ward's camera fell to the floor. No blood is seen in the video image.

The station then hastily cut away to a startled anchorwoman back in the studio.
Later, a video posted under the Twitter account bryce_williams7, showed the shooter brandishing a weapon at Parker, who was interviewing Gardner.

Both she and Ward apparently did not see the shooter. Multiple shots are then heard, and screams. Parker runs away.

The shooter's hand is clearly visible. He appears to be wearing a blue checkered shirt.
That video from the gunman's perspective was later removed from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Gardner, 62, was wounded in the back in the attack. She was reported in good condition on Thursday after undergoing emergency surgery.

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