The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based non-profit press freedom group, condemned the on-air killings. They were both engaged to be married to other people. Parker grew up in Martinsville and attended Patrick Henry Community College and James Madison University, while Ward graduated from Salem High School and Virginia Tech, the station said. “I cannot tell you how much they were loved," Marks said. The station described the two dead journalists as an ambitious reporter-and-cameraman team who often filmed light and breezy feature stories for the morning program. An image caught on camera showed what appeared to be a man in dark clothing facing the camera with a weapon in his right hand. Gunshots erupted, and as Ward fell his camera hit the ground but kept running. The station’s broadcast showed Parker interviewing Gardner about the lake and tourism development in the area. There was no word yet from the hospital on the condition of the woman, identified as Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce. She had been talking about the anniversary and tourism.
He said the interview was to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of Smith Mountain Lake, and the woman being interviewed was from the local chamber of commerce. Nothing of this nature than any of us could recall."
Journalist and cameraman shot driver#
The male driver is believed to be the same male subject who shot three people this morning in Franklin County during a television news interview," police said.Īsked on CNN if the station had been targeted or had been threatened, WDBJ7 president and general manager Jeff Marks said, “Every now and then you get a crazy email or something and we’ll look into it. “He is being transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. The troopers approached the vehicle and found the male driver suffering from a gunshot wound," police said in the statement. “Minutes later, the suspect’s vehicle ran off the road and crashed. In a statement, Virginia state police said the suspect refused to stop when spotted by a trooper and sped away. He was driving a rental car after leaving his own car at the Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport this morning, the station reported. The station reported that Flanagan shot himself as Virginia State Police were closing in on his rental car on Interstate 66 in Fauquier County. WDBJ7 reported that Flanagan was a former employee who was let go two years ago. One video clearly showed a handgun as the person filming approached the woman reporter. The videos were removed shortly afterward. The videos were posted to a Twitter account and on Facebook by a man identifying himself as Bryce Williams, which was Flanagan’s on-air name. Hours after the shooting, someone claiming to have filmed it posted video online that appeared to be from shooter’s vantage point. The broadcast was abruptly interrupted by the sound of shots as Parker and the woman being interviewing screamed and ducked for cover. The area is in the south-central part of the state, about 190km from the capital of Richmond. The on-air shooting occurred at about 10.45am GMT during an interview for the morning news program at Bridgewater Plaza, a Smith Mountain Lake recreation site with restaurants, shops, boating and arcades and holiday rentals. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.Police said Flanagan was in life-threatening condition. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Having often questioned before the conflict why anyone in the US should root for Ukraine (a well-established American ally) against Russia (an authoritarian adversary), he has lately helped introduce a conspiracy theory about US-funded and operated biolabs in Ukraine that have supposedly been developing bioweapons.
The most controversial host is Tucker Carlson, whose show is reliably among the most-watched pundit on cable news.