A gun man has just shot and killed two media members and wounded a third person on live television today, Wednesday 26th August 2015, while they were filming in central Virginia. The police are still hunting the assailant.
According to WHSV, the police were reportedly chasing the suspect on I-81. CNN reported earlier that cops had the license plate number of the alleged shooter.
The two people killed were identified by WDBJ colleagues as reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27.
A third person, who was being interviewed at the time of the shooting, was shot in the back and is in surgery, according to CNN. That person was identified as Vicki Gardner, head of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, by the Roanoke Times.
The shooting occurred at 6:45 a.m. at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Va., according to Franklin County Sheriff Department spokesperson Phillip Young.
A federal law enforcement official told Fox News the FBI's
Richmond field office had responded to the scene and was participating in the investigation. The ATF said on Twitter it was also assisting in the manhunt for the shooting suspect.
The shooting occurred live on television while Parker was conducting an interview outdoors about a planned anniversary celebration at Smith Mountain Lake, with Ward filming. When the camera panned to Parker and her subject, multiple shots rang out and several screams could be heard. As the camera fell to the ground, an blurry image suspected to be of the gunman came into view on the screen momentarily.
“We always say ‘senseless’ crime,” WDBJ President and General Manager Jeff Marks said on the station. “How can this individual have robbed Alison and Adam’s families of their lives and loves?”
More to come.
Source:
Fox News