allison parker, cameraman, adam ward. alison interviewing somebody about tourism outside of roanoke. picturesque place. not a lot of people around. live television. a gunman emerges, fires eight shots. you hear her screaming, trying to duck for cover. here is a statement by the general manager to the viewers this morning. >> it is my very, very sad duty to report that we have determined through the help of the police and our own employees that allison and adam died this morning shortly after 6:45, when the shots rang out. we do not know the motive. we do not know who the suspect or who the killer is. gregg: well, alison's boyfriend, chris hurst, tweeted out the following. she was the most radiant woman i ever met and for some reason she loved me back. she loved her family. her parents, and her brother. i am comforted by everyone at wdbj7. we were a family. she worked with adam every day. they were a team. i'm heartbroken for her fiance. it was the best nine months of our lives. we wanted to get married. we just celebrated

adam was adam ward the photographer killed. the station's manager said no one saw this coming. >> he did make some accusations against people sometime ago. you can never imagine that somebody is going to come back and act on those issues that were so old. >> reporter: about a week ago the shooter started posting pictures and apparent life history, highlights from his childhood through high school and beyond. and in the rambling 23 page fax to abc news he says his plan to kill was set in motion after the killings in charleston, south carolina earlier this summer. why did i do it? i put down a deposit for a gun on 6-19-15, the church shooting in charleston happened on 6-17-15. later, he write, admiration for the south korean national mass killer responsible for the killings at virginia tech and the columbine high school killers. his final tweet, i filmed the shooting, see facebook. >> so deeply troubling. drew griffin joins us now. the shooter specifically targeted those two young journalists. any sense at this point why? >> repo

adam ward was a virginia tech graduate and a huge hoekys fan. >> adam ward walking sports encyclopedia. i would like to talk sports with him more. it kills me to know the college football season is about to start and here he is gone before it ever got to begin. >> reporter: he was engaged to be married to mel list say ott, a morning show producer at the same station. today was her last day before starting a new job in charlotte and ward had planned to join her there. >> the most horrific thing is she was in the control room and watched it happen live. >> reporter: two young lives lost in senseless violence. leaving behind a trail of grief. >> jeffrey marks is wdbj's general manager. jeffrey, thank you for taking the time tonight on just really a difficult night for you and your colleagues. >> thank you, jim. >> i wonder having lost those close friends today, what are you saying to your employees tonight? >> i'm saying how proud i am of them. they grieved today but in between the grieving, they performed as journalists and a great production team. everybody in the build, we have more th

adam ward was to follow her. she was moving on, so it was a party in waiting as she witnessed this horrible, tragic situation unfold in front of her eyes at that control room. and the anchor, chris hurst, sharing also moments ago that even though they hadn't shared it publicly, they were very much in love, and we wanted to get married. we will continue covering this story and be right back after a short break. american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card. really? that worked? american express' timeless safety and security are now available on apple pay. the next evolution of membership is here. more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about long-acting levemir®. as my diabetes changed, it got harder to control my blood sugar. today, i'm asking about levemir®. vo: leve

adam ward 27 years old. adam was engaged to the morning producer, and she in fact watched her fiancee get killed on live tv, trying desperately to reach him by phone there. he died as did alison parker. alison's boyfriend, as you mentioned, very close and very touched by this crime, very personally saying i loved her so much, and she loved me back. adam describes the general manager as a guy who would do any job you asked him. he was a lovable person. so a tight knit station. a tight knit community. tonight they're all devastated. >> dave wagner, thank you so much. that third victim is in stable condition tonight. vicky gardner was the one allison and adam were interviewing at the time of that shooting. she was hit in the chest and rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. officials tell us she is in the recovery room at this hour. and we have a lot more content right now on our nbc washington app tonight, including a story from our sister station in the san francisco bay area with more about vester flan

alison parker and adam ward were there. a gunman fired again, and again and again, you hear at least eight shots before the broadcast cuts back to the anchor desk, both parker and ward and on tv for a fraction of a second, that camera caught a clear picture of the man responsible, the man dressed head to toe in black, knew the two victims. authorities identified the killer as vester flanagan, also known as bryce williams. he had worked for the tv station. twitter has a motive, and even worse, he posted videos of the crime, flanagan later took his own life. >>> chris, my friend is live in roanoke. he begins our coverage. chris, we'll get to the killer in just a moment. you're standing outside that tv station where alison and adam worked. makeshift memorial into the shade tree, balloons, flowers, but mostly there are tears and there is shock. so many people who have come by are people that work at wdbj. this is a true news family here. so many are just locals in this tight community. we're coming up with the same questioning

adam ward was 27 years old. he was thinking of leaving the media to go with his fiance to start a new life. it's unbelievably sad. the shooter is still out there somewhere. i do want your reaction to this video, joe. >> yes. i mean, what's going to happen here is they're going to lock down this entire area. nobody's going anywhere. they're going to be stopping cars, setting up roadblocks. they have to examine everybody in that park too. in water parks there's a lot of places to hide, bushes and stuff like that. the law enforcement officers have to be mindful of their own safety right now. somebody could be popping out of the bushes at this point. we have a good snapshot of his photo. you could still pick this guy out. somebody who would know him, especially in this area, is going to know who this guy is. and they're going to find out who he is and execute search warrants at his house. the police won't give you his name right away even if they do know. they want to execute a warrant first. we have no idea what hi

adam, we assume, at this point could mean adam ward, the photographer who was killed, 27 years old who was jirs shot in this horrific attack this morning. then you see the tweet below that. "they hired her after that." we have no context. that was posted also at the very same time. everyone is going to very quickly think we're talking about alison parker, the reporter who was also killed. a lot of details coming out. these are some of the tweets he posted. what we are not showing you right now is there is a video that was also posted. brian stelter and alexandra field are with me. we were talking about that. you and alex and i have seen parts of this video. it's stunning in how troubling it is because it appears to show the gunman in the act of firing. >> it does. you see the first several shots fired and you see alison try to flee. it appears like he's wearing some sort of gopro, a camera mounted to me. you see him hold the gun up before he fires, pausing for quite a long period of time. what you do not see are all of the shots, the video stops before that point. and it's important to

adam ward was only 27 years old. and one of adam's fellow photographers at wdbj just tweeted throughout heart wrenching picture. this is adam ward's locker at the tv station. >>> coming up, officials in virginia are expecting to hold a news conference on the latest developments in this horrific, horrific shooting. what's going on in the investigation is coming up in the top of the hour. also we're getting reaction from the shooting around the country. brian stelter will tell us what he's been hearing. a new season brings a new look. a chance to try something different. this summer, challenge your preconceptions and experience a cadillac for yourself. ♪ the 2015 cadillac srx. lease this from around $339 per month, or purchase with 0% apr financing. you premium like clockwork. month after month. year after year. then one night, you hydroplane into a ditch. yeah... surprise... your insurance company tells you to pay up again. why pay for insurance if you have to pay even more for using it? if you have liberty mutual d

nevertheless, he's a wanted man for shooting alison parker and adam ward. obviously this is very serious on this manhunt playing out right now. tylenol arthritis to do that. aleve. all day strong. bill's got a very tough 13lie here...... looks like we have some sort of sea monster in the water hazard here. i believe that's a "kraken", bruce. it looks like he's going to go with a nine iron. that may not be enough club... well he's definitely going to lose a stroke on this hole. if you're a golf commentator, you whisper. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. this golf course is electric... marieto roll out aknows perfectly flaky crust that's made from scratch. or mix vegetables with all white meat chicken and a homemade gravy. but marie callender's does. just sit down and savor. marie callender's. it's time to savor. so, what did you guys they think of the test drive? i love the jetta. but what about a deal? terry, stop! it's quite alright... you know what? we want to make a deal

and adam ward, the last image he captured was that of the suspect, working until the end. hallie jackson, plo please stay me. i want to bring in mark church. dr. church, what can you tell us about what the police are telling you and the safety of the citizens in that area? >> the sheriff and i have been in contact all day at various points. we have three schools that we put on lockdown that were closest to the area. however, now the sheriff has informed us that we can release lockdown and that there is no threat in the immediate area. >> what are your educators telling children about this? because obviously kids have cell phones, they're engaged in social media. so much of what happened is spreading through those means. what is the message to the children of the area right now? >> well, the schools that were affected are elementary schools, so very few of them are involved. of course we've notified the parents we were in lockdown. high schools of course are seen on media and we will be working with children with our counselors and our response team for crisis to address th

former colleague of alison parker and adam ward shot and killed them during live television interview at an outdoor shopping mall in virginia this morning. the gunman shot a woman park derr was interviewing. she's in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries after emergency surgery. the gunman a former employee of the same roanoke tv station where the victims worked drove off from the scene and posted video of himself on social media killing parker and ward. he also faxed a multi page manifesto explaining his motives to abc network news. after a chase he drove off the road, officers found him with a self inflicted gunshot wound. he died at a hospital. >>> we have team coverage tonight. chris o'connell is looking into what may have motivated the gunman but we begin tonight with dawn timmeney for an inn in depth look at a morning that horrified americans everywhere. dawn? >> reporter: it's really hard to wrap your head around this, iain. to journalists just doing their jobs smiling, neither having any idea of the horror that is about to unfold. >> it was 6:45 this morning. rep

ward because he was a great, great person. >> alison parker, 24, adam ward, 27. so young. i think that's what pulls on the heart strings of so many people. just mentioned adam ward as this eager kid wanting to learn, wanting to soak everything up. what do you think would be the lesson of adam ward for kids coming up in the tv business or high school football players out there? >> i think it's, if you work hard and you enjoy what you're doing, it's not going to be a job. you're going to love what you do and you're going the get so much out of life. and you look at what he's been remembered for, for what he did at dbj and what he's been able to do with his family and his friends, i think that he just lived it to the fullest. and we should all take a page out of his book by doing that. >> grant, thanks so much for making the time on what's been a tough few days. take care. >>> a clear picture of the man who killed adam ward and alison parker is emerging. this video provided to nbc news, getting a look inside the vester lee flanagan apartment. it shows a near empty i

the man behind the camera was adam ward. and it was ward who captured a final image of flanagan as he laid dying yesterday that helped station personnel identify him to police. at some point following the shooting, flanagan faxed a 23-page document to abc in which he referenced other mass shootings and described himself as a human powder keg just waiti waiting to go boom. his family expressed condolences for the lives lost. they've also expressed their prayers for the continued recovery of vicki gardner who was the local official being interviewed on air when the shooting started. she was also hit, underwent emergency surgery and now is in good condition. so a small bright spot of news following a very difficult 24 hours here in roanoke. >> sarah, thank you very much. let me bring in psychologist jeff gardere. thank you for being with me. >> my pleasure, jose. >> the fact that flanagan recorded video of the shooting and uploaded it to social media as he was on the run, is that unusual? >> it is very unusual and it's somethin

his job. >> adam ward, walking sports encyclopedia. i would like to have been able to talk sports with him more, but i wasn't in his league. it kills me to know the college football season is about to start and here he is gone. >> adam had so much fun playing on the company's softball team, that they let me play on, too. adam was a lot better than i was. that's one of the reason we won the city championship. >> going to virginia tech or pursuing this career in sports broadcasting, he had the goals and achieved them with relent his work effort, and a lot of effusive joy. >>> we know we saw that entire newsroom standing strong behind the general manager of the station and the news director wearing those ribbons, so when you see them, it's the teal, which is alison's favorite color and the maroon which stantsds for the virginia tech maroon color, which was adam's favorite color from his alma mater. i'll say it again, we stand with you. i'm brooke baldwin here in new york. thank you for watching. "the lead" starts now. \s >>> making sense

book page in honor of alison parker and adam ward. they have a number of different things listed here but most notably a statement from president obama his that breaks my heart every time he hears about these incidents and he said what we know is the number of people who died from the related incidents around the country dwarfs any deaths that will happen through terrorism. certainly a political statement but a statement from the president. ben: thatan you. this killer clearly wanted an audience and not just your is watching at home. jpcuiet: flanagan posted his horrifying video to his facebook and twitter accounts using social media in sy muh a stunning way, a horrifying way to document his violence. when police reviewed surveillance video image of flanagan tweeting as he left the crime scene. twitter and facebook took the disturbing video down but not people viewed it because of the auto play and card listing many of them tweeted it but some saw it and intentionally because twitter users and facebook users don't have to click on a v

adam" again, presumably adam ward, the photographer "adam went to hr on me after working with me one time." then the most harrowing of all of the tweets "i filmed the shooting, see facebook." and, indeed, those who saw what happened and this is all at about 11:45 eastern standard time were able to actually see what it was that was on facebook and it was, indeed, an execution video from the shooter's perspective of a gun, a hand holding a gun and opening fire on alison as she was giving a live report. the camera goes dead at this point and it's presumed that shortly after the photographer, adam ward and then the other victim in this case, who survived, vicki gardner, were also shot. it was another tweet making a lot of news as well today and it's an entirely different kind of tweet. it comes from the boyfriend of alison parker. it's chris hurst, one of the main anchors at that station. he anchors the 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. broadcast. this is what he put out "we didn't share this publicly, but alison and i were very much in love. we just moved in together. i am numb." i think it's importa

adam ward was also from the roanoke area and went to virginia tech. the general manager of wdbj said ward was engaged to the producer of the morning show who was in the control room this morning when the shooting happened. the two of these people were assigned to the morning show, which means they got up in the middle of the night to bring the news to you first thing in the morning. >> we send people into war zones, dangerous situations and riots, and you worry they're going to get hurt. you send somebody out to do a -- how canurism and you ever expect something like this to happen? -- you use all of the words, senseless, devastated, those are all the news catchwords, but they all apply. as salmon to an, there's a third victim involved in this, vicki gardner who headed up a local chamber of commerce. back to alison parker and allison -- adam ward, alison was dating the anchor for wdbj chris hurst who tweeted emotionally about the situation, showing this picture that says they did not sure this publicly, but alison and i were very much in love. we just

adam ward was behind camera. it is light morning show fair, a story about tourism is >> to provide a better experience. >> reporter: we won't show you what came next, gunshots on why television, screams from alison parker and were from the internet studio who had just witnessed her colleagues getting murdered. the woman parker had been interviewing, vicki gardner was injured. >> not sure what happens. we will let you know as soon as we find out. >> reporter: as word's camera toppled to the ground it acted this image of the gunman identified as vester lee flanagan, a disgruntled reporter who was fired in 2013. also went by the name of bryce williams the cheapest and video on facebook and twitter. he also railed against his former colleagues, alison parker and adam ward and facebook. the journalists and general manager had to whitey is from their eyes at one moment and in the next do as they were trained to do, cover a huge story. this one was about their beloved co-worker is. >> we have determined to help the poli

a team, alison parker and adam ward. 24 and 27 years old. friends say they were like brother and sister. >> i cannot tell you how much they were loved, alison and adam. >> the sheriff charged with investigating their murders says he knew them well. >> sheriff overton: it was difficult this morning. i did a remote with miss parker and adam about three weeks ago. brad: like many in the roanoke area, he, too, was watching this morning. >> it really stopped me in my tracks. i couldn't understand what was happening myself. brad: as the reality of the murder sank in, the colleagues at wdbj7 had to do the unthinkable. report the news of deaths in their own family. >> adam graduated from salem high school. went to virginia tech. alison, martinsville high school, graduated early from her class. graduated j.m.u. brad: cameraman adam ward was engaged to be married to a coworker on the morning shift. alison was dating an anchor at the straights. -- station. her family issued a state saying in part "her spirit will always be with us." leon: brad bell rep

. >> reporter: reporter alison parker and photographer adam ward were interviewing a local chamber of commerce president live on the station's morning show live when a gunman opened fire at point blank range. last captured on camera was the face of his killer which helped launch a manhunt for vester lee flanagan, a former reporter at the station who posted about the shooting on social media. police caught up with flanagan as he head down i-66 and turned the gun on himself. flanagan had worked as a reporter at wdbj under the name bryce williams. he was fired in 2013 after less than a year. overnight last night he faxed a rambling 23 page suicide note said was harassment suffered at the station for being black and gay. he claimed it was the charleston church shooting in june that finally set him off. "i was already on the edge. the church shooting was the tipping point." he wrote. wdbj's general manager denies any harassment took place. >> he was not harassed or discriminated against. in fact, he made life difficult for some other people here, but we never sensed that could escalate to

adam was adam ward, the photographer killed. the station's manager says no one saw this coming. >> he did make some accusations against people sometime ago. you can never imagine someone's going to come back and act on those issues that were so old. >> reporter: about a week ago, the shooter started to post pictures an apparent life history. highlights from his childhood throughout high school and beyond. in the rambling 23-page fax to abc news he said his plan to kill was set in motion after the killings in charleston, south carolina, earlier this summer. why did i do it? i put down a deposit for a gun on 6-19-15, the church shooting in charleston happened on 6-17-15. later he writes admiration for the south korean national mast masked killer responsible for the shootings in virginia tech. his final tweet, i filmed the shooting. see facebook. drew griffin, cnn, washington. >> so horrific what he did. to shoot it like that and post it is a new day and a sad day at that. second team the constitution allows americans the right to

then takes aim at adam ward. the interview subject, a woman by the name of vicki gardner, who's with the local chamber of commerce, she was also injured, wounded, taken to the hospital. she's been through surgery and it is believed that she will recover and survive. i want to bring in now jim cavanaugh, an msnbc analyst and retired atf special agent, and clint van zandt, former fbi profiler. clint, let me start with you about trying to build a profile and backfilling. what we'd try to make of why a person who is a former reporter at this television station, dismissed two years ago, would show up randomly and open fire on two former colleagues. >> yeah. well, i guess first, thomas, and i'm sure you believe too, i don't think this is random. i think this is planned. as an employee of this station, former employee, he would have known perhaps how to find out what assignments they were on. he had made allegations that the station tells us there's nothing to support whatsoever against two of the people he killed. this

with both alison parker and adam ward dead at her feet. the gunman long gone. vicky gardner managed to rise on her feet. >> she's one of those individuals who says if i can get up i'm going to get up and she got up and walked to the ambulance. >> reporter: for alison parker and adam ward, the prayer vigils and makeshift memorials are out front of the wdbj newsroom, and inside, colleagues from sister stations in the midwest have flown in to help as the grief-stricken staff struggles with shock over the loss of two colleagues. >> we want to pause and reflect and we want to share with you once again what made these two so special, not just to us but to all of our hometowns that wdbj serves. >> reporter: august is typically quiet here in roanoke, virginia. full of the gentle sounds of river tubing, not the rapid-fire explosions of gun shots. leader. >> we just saw someone going 69. reporter alison parker was there to cover everything from bacon fests and charity events to a recent series on child abuse. >> experts say neglect is a form of child abuse that is just a

alison parker and adam ward died on the scene. the person being interviewed, vicki gardner of the chamber of commerce, was badly wounded. police say flanagan, a former reporter at the station, fled in one car, went to the roanoke airport, where he got into a previously rented vehicle and drove away from the city. flanagan was spotted about 200 miles from the shooting scene. with police in pursuit, he crashed his car alongside interstate 66. police say when they approached the car, flanagan had shot himself. he was taken to a hospital where he later died. >> now, if you missed today's performance. >> reporter: flanagan was a longtime television reporter who went by the name of bryce williams on air. besides roanoke, he had worked in several cities across the country. shortly after the attack, someone identifying himself as flanagan called and faxed a 23- page letter to abc news. in what he describes as a suicide note, flanagan says he was attacked for being a gay black man. according to abc, flanagan also said today's shootings wer

ripper alison parker and photographer adam ward. me to come in, that something unimaginable had happened. she was awesome to work with. he had this personality. he could you up if you are having a bad day. >> it's my family. richard: the community came by to get a respects. >> they were put of the family. richard: the now deceased gun man, vester flanagan, was a former station employee, a hunting fact not lost on general manager jeff marks. >> why was i not targeted? richard: now this station and city are dealing with a loss never expected. >> it really makes you think. wow, life is precious. see ♪ut now i all night long, we have been seeing people come by the memorial. it's remarkable how many young people, the employees of the station came out to work this story, standing right in this very spot all morning, mourning the loss of their friends. general manager said tonight, "our hearts are broken." leon: so many hearts broken tonight. alison parker's father issued a statement, calling her a bright shining light. he said, "not hea

the personal stories behind murder victims allison parker and adam ward. i'm billy bush.

we have learned that adam ward was in love with someone at the station. ev engaged to the morning show producer. his fiancee was producing the morning show at the time he was killed on live tv. he was determined to put smiles on other faces as well. now let's talk about the survivor. the survivor. vicki gardner. this community that she loves so much. she is a wife, mother, grandmother and artist. we got this message from her employer late yesterday. they say they are confident she will recover and they will stand strong with her through this. miguel, alison. >>> alison parker's grieving father paid tribute to his daughter last night with a tv appearance which he praised her finest qualities and conveyed a passionate message about gun regulation. >> she lived a great life. she did a lot of stuff. she excelled at everything she did. she loved what she did. she loved the people that she worked with. she was happy with her place in life. so you know we can only take some solace in the fact she had a wonderful life. she was extremely happy and she loved this g

wdbj journalist adam ward was also killed at the scene. >> adam ward, news 7 sports. >> reporter: after a stint on air, he became a photographer and was alison's morning partner for the last year. they first met at the station as interns. they were a good team, and it showed. fr adam come out from the camera, how do you feel right now? >> when i first put on the heels, i rolled an ankle. it is very form fitting we'll say. >> adam was with always smiling and respectful. he joined the station in 2011 after graduating from virginia tech. he enrolled the same year a gunman killed 32 people in a deadly rampage at the school. those who knew him said he had a heart of gold. adam was 27 and engaged to the station's morning producer melissa who was at work in the control room watching the broadcast when the shooting happened live on air. it was her last day at the station. she had taken a new job and adam may not have been far behind. he told her recently, i'm going to get out of news. i think i'm going to do something else. randi kaye, cnn, new york. >> now, alison parker's family released a st

parker age 24 and adam ward h 27 died at the same. --at the scene >> reporter: working at the station for about a year after he was fired. >> reporter:flowers piling up outside the virginia television station. the news crew died during a live broadcast. >> reporter: tweeted about his crime. he also posted a first=person video of the shootings. >> reporter:the shooting took place during an interview at a shopping plaza near roanoke. >>verner lee flanigan the second, age 41 of roanoke suddenly appeared and approached them and started shooting. alison parker age 24 and adam ward age 27 died at the scene. >> reporter:ward's camera captured an image of flanigan, a former employee of the station who used the air name bryce williams. >> reporter:he worked at the station for about a year before he was fired. >>"i can't figure out any connection with those people, who are among them, the kindest, nicest people who work here." >> reporter:two hours after feeling the scene flanigan faxed a 23=page rant to abc news in new york, complaining of suf

reporter alison parker and cameraman adam ward. and the woman parker and ward were interviewing for the show. the pair always maintained a cheerful can-do attitude. >> if i walked in the building in the morning, and i saw alison and adam first, i knew i was in for smiles. they had a great attitude. it showed in their work. adam was always willing to do whatever extra was needed. even when he got up at 3:00 in the morning after the end of a long shift. alison was showing such solid growth as a reporter and occasionally as an anchor. >> for more on the three victims, let's turn to victor blackwell also in roanoke. >> reporter: understandably the team at wdbj is heart broken. the first morning in a while without waking up with the "a" team. alison parker and adam ward. the reporter and photographer who worked the morning shift. we knew alison parker just turned 24 years old. she graduated from james madison and worked in north carolina, but returned home to southwest virginia. she grew up 50 miles outside of roanoke. her colleagues sa

alison parker, age 24, and adam ward, age 27, died at the scene. both parker and ward were residents of roanoke, virginia. let us not forget, they grew up in this area, part of our community. >> reporter: the person they were interviewing, vicki gardner, we are told, still in the hospital at this hour in stable condition, still being treated. during the pursuit of flanagan, we noticed playing out on social media a rather troubling exchange. it was as though he was posting under his on-air name, bryce williams, and he was almost taunting police and the public, posting video, disturbing images of the attack. he captured it, it appears, from a cell phone that he was carrying as he carried out the attack here in the place behind me. as you heard there, the search for the suspect, flanagan, continued 200 miles north and that's where we find my colleague, pat collins, who is covering this angle of the story. pat? >> reporter: david, i'm in markham, virginia, it's about 11 miles east of front royal. this is where it all came to an end. and this is what it

adam ward's fiance was in the control room at the time of the shooting, she is a producer there. while his camera was rolling, vester flanagan fired 15 shots. vester flanagan grew up in the bay area. he used the name bryce williams during the time as a tv reporter. after killing the crew he posted video on facebook and later killed himself as police were closing in. >> the suspect from this incident, the shooting, died at fairfax in northern virginia as a result of a self-inflicted wound. the shooter had sued the television station 15 years ago for racial discrimination. that station denied the allegation. the lawsuit was dismissed and he filmed the shooting as it happened and posted it on social media. along with comments about the victims. ktvu's john sasaki talked to experts today and he is in the news room now. seems this gunman wanted this to go viral. and he wanted the notoriety. >> reporter: this was an attack intended to be as high profile as possible, happened on live tv and social media. >> reporter: like most journalists bryce williams had a big presence on social medi

. >> reporter: reporter alison parker and photographer adam ward were ambushed and killed live on the air wednesday morning. [ sound of gunfire ] by a disgruntled former employee of their station. >> i'm going to have -- >> reporter: that employee was a fellow journalist. vester flanagan. he went by the name bryce williams while reporting for the station. the 41-year-old was let go two years ago and andy parker says his daughter died doing what she loved. >> it's hard to get your arms arnold it and -- around it ask realize -- or try and make sense of why it happened. >> reporter: before killing himself authorities say flanagan went on a twitter rant saying allison made racist comments and adam complained about him to hr. flanagan apparently described himself as a human powder keg. motivated by the charleston church shooting massacre. president obama called wednesday's shooting a moment to reflect on. >> i think it's one more argument for why we need to look at you know how we can reduce gun violence in this country. >> reporter: prayer vigils will planned for the community and the com

and photographer adam ward just 28, bubbly and bear like. >> adam best way to describe my guess is a giant teddy bear he was just this guy that was just sweetest guy. always willing to help you out and do anything for you. >> engaged to morning producer who watched horrific scene unfold from the control room. saying in part i'm not okay and i won't be for a long time. adam i will never find a man so happy, selfless, protective, funny or charming like you. you were the one. you understood me, my soul mate i will always love you. as we continue to remember allison adam i want to turn your attention to the wdbj facebook we have a number of videos remembering these two. some ben and juliet are also light hearted. these kinds of videos that we often do about your favorite things you look to do and favorite foods to give you more perspective of who they were as people and journalists they can that out if you got a minute. back to both of you. >> days other news still to come morning what hillary clinton is saying about joe biden possibly entering the race for president. >> mike is watching

adam ward was a huge fan of virginia tech. a note that calls them the bright, shining stars who believed in this community, ashleigh, and one other person who really believed in this community, vic any gardner, the executive director of the community of moneta. she was shot in the back. we're told she underwent emergency surgery and is in stable condition. her folks there at the chamber of commerce call her a bright, energetic visionary, and they are dedicated to standing with her throughout her recovery. ashleigh? >> victor blackwell reporting live for us. thank you for that. of course alison and adam leave behind not only all those k colleagues we've been reporting on but family and friends as well. alis alison's father is andy parker. he's kind enough to join us right now live on the program. first of all, mr. parker, can i just say it's so hard to prepare for these interviews. it will sound trite when i say we are all thinking of you and our thoughts go out to you, and i know there's a lot that you want to say about your d

alison parker and adam ward shot to death as they delivered a report live on the air. it was a feature piece on tourism in the area. hours after the news, their co-workers vowed to keep reporting on the situation as painful as it was to them. >> they did great work every day did. and i am going to miss them both. >> so many of us thinking about the folks in that newsroom. alison's boyfriend took to facebook to tell us adam and every morning. he said the team is a family and together. shiba? >>> a museum that focuses on journalism and the news media is paying tribute to alison parker and adam ward. their pictures are now posted at the museum in washington, d.c., in front of the journalists' memorial wall, a wall that honors reporters and photographers from all over the world who have been killed in the line of duty. >> the purpose of the memorial is to say to the world, look, you may have issues with journalism and journalists as they do their job, but never forget, haere are hundreds and thousands of people risking their lives every day to bring news. and tragically, s

alison parker and adam ward were killed on air while they were doing a live shot. buzzfeed is showing some tweets. reporters and tv crews posting to twitter using the hashtag, we stand with wdvj. the use of video audio player on social media site in the line of fire. many of you are not happy that you saw the disturbing video of the shooting on twitter and facebook before you had a chance to decide if you wanted to watch it. twitter would not comment on the auto play feature. they did tell buzzfeed to check out the media policy. it says, video marked as sensitive does not auto play. you can change the settings to stop videos from playing automatically. >>> walmart says it will stop selling assault rifles. the reason is declining sales. it is not leaving the gun sales world completely. the world's largest retailer will replace rifles with shotguns and other hun >>> welcome back to "news 4 midday." the latest look the at cloud cover. looking at plenty of sunshine. some cloudiness down around the northern neck and the most southern parts of st. mary's county. cloudyne

yesterday during the morning show alison parker and adam wards were doing a live interview. a gunman walked up and started shooting. the entire tragedy was live on interview. the last image ward caught was of his killer's face who happened to be his former coworker vester lee flanagan. he drove away up i-66 before he shot and killed himself. we're still learning more about flanagan who used to work at wdbj. he was fired but he claimed he was discriminated against and that's why he targeted alison and adds dam. now today the news team at wdbj continues to report the tragic news delivering eulogies for their coworkers. they shared this video of alison this morning. >> when i was younger i was interested in the math and science fields. those were always my best subjects in school but i went the downism route which -- journalism route which is okay. but when i was younger i wanted to become a doctor or pharmacist but as a journalist i get to cover those type of field so it's close enough. >> reporter: she clearly had a bright future ahead of her. they were both virginia natives.

alison parker and adam ward. their names em blazoned in the headlines, their faces and smiles etched in our minds forever. as we come on the air today, we are learning new details from police and investigators and hearing new calls for gun control. before that, though, i want to pause and remember the most important thing in all of this, the two victims at the center of this story. alison and adam. >> i am a virginia girl. >> reporter: she was a shining star. >> i wanted to go through a sleep study to see if my job impacts how i snooze. adam and i work the same early morning shift but have completely different sleep schedules. >> reporter: a 24-year-old reporter, colleagues say she never shied away from a story. unfailingly positive, relentlessly hardworking. >> adam ward, news 7 sports. >> reporter: and her 27-year-old photographer, adam ward. >> i have to bring him out. adam, come out in front of the camera. he is the ugly stepmother and just looking absolutely gorgeous. >> reporter: the pair beginning as inter

adam ward was 27. they were just starting their careers according to a statement from wdbj said both had big plans and bright future cut short in the shattering attack here this morning. greta. >>> it's unbelievable, two going to work and you expect the day would be so much different. >> yes. >> we talked about chris hurst, his girlfriend was one of the people who was murdered. chris hurst, his co-anchor is jean, and she joins us tonight. jean, thank you for joining us. >> you are welcome, greta. >> jean, you know, i don't even know what to say to you, what to ask you. i mean, so very difficult for you in so many ways. first, it's someone you knew. then it's someone you work with fiancee and you have got to do your job. what do you say tonight to the viewers who are watching? >> well, first of all, it's been a very, very surreal day from the phone call i got this morning at 10 after 7:00 we need you to come in allison and adam have been involved in a shooting. i had no idea at that point that they had

the photographer, adam ward was 28. the virginia tech was the station's go-to guy. the woman being interviewed from the chamber of commerce was shot. we're hearing she is in surgery. back to you. >> thank you, christen, and just a terrible story. our entire news room is shaken. this story really hits close to home but it's the sort of violence happening around the country and there are plenty of families or still looking for answers. >> it is, and sadly, we're seeing stories like this more and more often. it's terrible and sad. it hits close to home. for us it makes it a little more impactful for us in the news room. but things like that, unfortunately do happen. >> our prayers and thoughts with their families and friends. >> our david culver is on his way down. as soon as we get an update, we'll send the breaking news alert straight to your phone. >> right now the washington monument is back open. take a live look here. visitors there probably hoping they don't get stuck at the top. that happened last night to 63 people, including to pregnant women. they were tryin

. >> colleagues at wdbj held a moment of silence had morning to remember alison parker and adam ward, those who knew the young journalists described both as special people who loved getting up each morning to help others get their day started. >> "today in the bay" stephanie chuang joining us live from our san francisco newsroom. both parker and ward were about to start new chapters in their personal lives on the verge of it. >> reporter: they were. so is young. alison parker had had just celebrated her 24th birthday with her family and her boyfriend, a coworker at that station, and 27-year-old photographer adam ward was recently engaged, also to a coworker. absolutely heart breaking and this morning a colleagues at wdbj 7 in roanoke, virginia their voices broke as they remembered both parker and ward, virginia natives and former interns at the station. friends who worked together every morning. ward was set to marry the morning show producer who was actually in the control room when both ward and parker were gunned down on the air. parker and her boyfriend had just moved in together,

ed says adam ward had the face of a man i'm sure i'd like. the dude at the end of the bar that everyone wants to buy a beer. elizabeth burn burrley wrote so, so sad, what a waste of talented people who really had something to contribute. >>> we are continuing to follow this story. and you can, too, by downloading our news app. you can share your thoughts on our facebook page. we also have a 24-hour update on the investigation on wusa9.com. >>> other news now, right now the mail carrier who landed that gyrocopter on the west lawn of the u.s. capitol is in a d.c. courtroom. doug hughes has turned down a plea deal in the case. he is facing several federal felony charges. he says he made that flight to hand deliver letters to congress about how money is corrupting politics and campaign finance reform. >>> firefighters are investigating what started as an apartment fire in landover hills. crews rescued three people from the burning three-story apartment building which is on 68th place. 18 people are now staying in a shelter or with family. fortuna

she was happy with her place in life. >> photographer adam ward was end game today a producer at the station, melissa ott from gibbstown, new jersey, it was ott's last day on the job. she was taking a new position in a new market. instead of celebrating the achievement with her friends, she had to watch in horror as her fiancee was murdered on live tv. she was in the control room producing the newscast. while we heard from parker's boyfriends and parker -- path, we have not heard from her fiancee, some were posting on her behalf asking for her privacy at this time. >> understandably so. >> of course. >> all right, jenny joyce, thank you so much. >> the shooter's note is described by police as part suicide part manifesto. >> so, in it he said he was a gay black man and felt he had been mistreated. in the chilling, sometimes rambling note, he said he bought his guns two days after the june shooting of the historically black church in charleston where nine people were killed. quote what set me over the top was the church shooting and my hollow point bullet had the victims initials on th

adam ward, young man, started at virginia tech in 2007. that's the year of the virginia tech massacre, 32 people losing their live. the gunman today referred to the gunman in that shooting, said he revered him, that he was something that he idolized, he looked up to as a symbol of his own disturbance, so you had adam ward who saw the event in 2007 as motivation to tell the stories of people and do the best that he could with his life, same event that the gunman looked at as a rationale for bringing out worst in himself. >> you know, we're learning a little bit more as you mentioned inspired, and i hate to use that word, motivated perhaps by the gunman at virginia tech, sounds like there were multiple motivations from the 23 pages sent to abc news this morning. something pointed out by the sheriff in franklin county and when it comes to the why, we may not have the answer in quite a while, this man had apparently a month ago dropped off his car at the regional roanoke airport and rented a car, and it was that rental car that he was in today