Heartbroken. WDBJ-TV reporters observed a moment of silence for reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward at the start of their program on Thursday, Aug. 27, just one day after their late colleagues were killed during a live broadcast in Moneta, Va.
In the emotional moment, anchor Kim McBroom joined hands with fellow anchor Steve Grant and weatherman Leo Hirsbrunner at 6:45 a.m., the same time of the shooting. “Joining hands here on the desk,” she said. “It’s the only way to do it.”
Parker, 24, and Ward, 27, were shot and killed by disgruntled former employee Vester Flanagan, who went by the name Bryce Williams, on-air. Flanagan was fired two years ago from the station, and had to be escorted out by police at the time. On Wednesday, he posted videos of the shooting on his social media accounts, sent a 23-page suicide note to ABC News, and accused Parker of racism on Twitter.
Parker and Ward were both involved with co-workers at the WDBJ-TV company. Parker had recently moved in with her boyfriend, anchor station reporter Chris Hurst. Ward proposed to producer Melissa Ott back in April. According to NBC, Ott — who was in the control room when Ward was killed — received her wedding dress on the same day as the shooting.
Hurst and Parker’s father, Andy Parker, have opened up about losing their loved one in several interviews since the tragedy.
“I’ve been alternating between the shock and the grief of it. I’ve been holding up I guess okay, but I’ve been crying my eyes out all day long. It’s gone back and forth, and now it’s … the anger is starting to creep in there, because this should not happen. It shouldn’t have happened to someone like Alison,” Andy told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly on Wednesday. “We’ve got to do something about crazy people getting guns.”
Hurst added via Twitter: “We were together almost nine months. It was the best nine months of our lives. We wanted to get married. We just celebrated her 24th birthday. She was the most radiant woman I ever met. And for some reason she loved me back.”
