Chris Hurst is the main Anchor at WDBJ and his girlfriend Alison Parker was the morning Reporter.
Parker was gun down in the middle of her live shot along with Photographer Adam Ward by a former WDBJ employee.
After the shooting, Hurst posted to social media that he and Parker were a couple, it was not something he shared publicly until yesterday.
Hurst spoke to WSLS about Alison and his relationship.
BBC reporters Franz Strasser and Tara McKelvey were covering the story of the news crew shot and killed at a Virginia mall. They were also covering the story of the manhunt for the killer Vestor Flanagan.
The pair pulled up on the scene were Flanagan's car crashed after a short chase with police.
After the chase, the Virginia State police this statement on their Facebook page: “The suspect vehicle refused to stop and sped away from the trooper. Minutes later, the suspect vehicle ran off the road and crashed. The troopers approached the vehicle and found the male driver suffering from a gunshot wound."
Strasser and McKelvey, were reporting from the crash scene when they were told by police to delete their video footage.
On Wednesday night, Corinne Geller, the statewide public relations manager for the Virginia State Police, tweeted at Strasser.
Unfortunately, this is not a first for reporters in Virginia. Just last year WTVR-TV in Richmond reported on two incidents involving police officers and cellphones in Petersburg and Norfolk.
According to the ACLU of Virginia, their office has documented citizens who have been charged for filming police — usually as a violation of wiretapping laws.
H/T PRI.org
Yesterday, while police were frantically searching for Vestor Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams, after he gunned down a news crew from WDBJ, the suspect was posting to social media.
Williams was using social media to rant against the station that fired him and try to explain his gutless act of gunning down the news crew.
He went so far to post video that he took himself of him pulling the trigger and killing those people. The video was horrific. FTVLive saw the video seconds after Williams posted it. We knew it was not something we would post to the site.
When FTVLive first started following Williams on Twitter yesterday, he had less than 20 followers, it quickly grew to almost 2000 and then Twitter pulled the plug on the account.
You can't blame Twitter for suspending the account, but was it the correct call?
Having a suspect post to social media could be of great help to police. First, knowing that he is posting, gives police a chance to use technology to try and find the suspect.
Second, say the suspect is captured alive, his Twitter feed could be used in helping prosecute him /her.
Does Twitter confer with police before they suspend an account?
We totally get why Twitter pulled the account, but in the end it might be better to leave it up while the investigation is still active.
In wake of yesterday's killing of a Roanoke news crew, the NYPD made sure to be on the lookout for any copycats.
This was the scene yesterday evening outside WPIX in New York:
MSNBC wised up and has decided to pull the plug on Rev. Al Sharpton’s show at 6PM.
Sharpton is being demoted down to a show on Sunday morning at 8AM, which is basically the Siberia of a TV schedule.
One would think that Sharpton would have his political action league protesting the peacock for the demotion. But, somehow MSNBC got Sharpton to buy in the demotion.
“I’m very happy,” he said Wednesday. “First, I can reach a wider audience of people who don’t get home by 6 at night. Second, I can now get the A-list guests and newsmakers I want. And third, a Sunday morning host is what I always wanted to be.
Wow.... Does the Rev really believe any of what he said? If he does, then NBC boss Andy Lack should be selling snow to Eskimos.
“I never wanted to be a weeknight pundit. I wanted to be a Sunday morning newsmaker. I wanted to be Dr. Martin Luther King, not Larry King.”
Sorry to tell you this Al, but if Martin Luther King worked at MSNBC, he defiantly would have a show in prime time.
Sharpton signs off from weeknight TV on September 4th.
No one seems to be enjoying the Fox News vs. Donald Trump right more than MSNBC's Rachel Maddow.
Maddow has been giddy to talk about the two sides going at it. She calls Fox News, "Republican Party Television" at the same time her own network is trying to stop being "Democratic Party Television".
But, Maddow just can't help herself from getting excited to bash both FNC and Trump at the same time:
Fox has named Kieran Clarke as the station's new General Manager of its two stations in Charlotte, WJZY and WMYT.
Jack Abernethy, CEO of Fox Television Stations, made the announcement to staff Wednesday morning. Clarke begins next month, succeeding Karen Adams, who left this summer for another corporate assignment.
Clarke was executive vice president for Des Moines, Iowa-based Meredith Corp., which operates 16 television stations across the nation, including the Fox affiliate in Greenville, S.C.
Before that, Clarke was GM of the Fox affiliate in Portland, Oregon.
“Leading WJZY and WMYT is a tremendous opportunity, especially given the stations’ valuable franchises such as the Panthers, NASCAR and the FOX prime time lineup,” Clarke said in a statement. “I am also eager to grow and strengthen FOX46’s local news product and call Charlotte, a place where we already have family, home.”
The family of WDBJ Reporter Alsion Parker have released a statement about the killing of their daughter:
“Today we received news that no family should ever hear. Our vivacious, ambitious, smart, engaging, hilarious, beautiful, and immensely talented Alison taken from the world. This is senseless and our family is crushed.”
WDBJ GM Jeffery Marks says that the staff at WDBJ is grieving but also working at the same time.
True Journalism.
#WDBJ GM: "Everybody's hugging. Everybody's crying. And then everybody's doing their work as journalists." http://t.co/ozwbDRr5xG
— CBSN (@CBSNLive) August 26, 2015Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams did not take his firing well when WDBJ decided to part ways with him.
Marks said that Flanagan was “an unhappy man" and was" someone who had been difficult to work with”.
When the station decided to fire him, Marks says it did not go well. “We dismissed him, and he did not take that well. We had to call the police to escort him from the building.”
Flanagan kept a resume posted on YouTube with his work.
The first piece of video on his resume, is him doing a stand up holding a gun (picture).
Here is the email from Scripps Senior VP Brian Lawlor in response to this morning's tragic shooting:
Former co-workers who knew the man accused of killing WBDJ Reporter Alison Parker and Photographer Adam Ward are talking about their history with suspect.
Vester Lee Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams worked as a reporter in several different markets including Tallahassee, FL.
He was hired in Tallahassee by then News Director Don Shafer (Shafer is now an ND in SanDiego).
"He was a good on-air performer, a pretty good reporter. And then things started getting a little strange," Shafer said.
Shafer says he hired Flanagan at WTWC in 1999 and fired him in 2000. Shafer said he fired Flanagan for what he called was "odd behavior."
Flanagan later sued the Tallahassee station, but the case was thrown out.
Flanagan also sured WDBJ after being fired from that station. That lawsuit was also thrown out.
H/T XETV
Update X24: The Shooter was pronounced dead at the Hospital at 1:26PM. Rot in hell.
Update X23: Police say the suspect had a fait pulse and was still alive after shooting himself. WDBJ general manager Jeff Marks says of shooter: "I'm not really sure I want him to live or die."
Update X22: Police say the suspect killed himself on I-66 in Fauquier Co. He couldn't just off himself before changing the lives of so many people. This truly was the coward's way out. END OF UPDATES. PRAY FOR THE VICTIMS
Update X21: Augusta County Sheriff's office say that Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams is Dead. He was the suspect in this morning's shooting.
Update X20: The impact of this morning's shooting is reaching other markets. In Memphis, police are urging stations to report ANY threats or odd behavior to them.
Also, a source tells FTVLive that Cox owned WHBQ was suspending all liveshots until further notice. Not sure if this is just at the Memphis station or at Cox station's company wide.
Update X19: back in 2014, Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams filed a lawsuit against WDBJ for alleged discrimination. He named most of the WDBJ staff in his complaint. In July of last year the case was dismissed by a judge.
Update X18 :
Update X17: Twitter has suspended the suspect's account. Not sure if this helps or hurts police trying to find him?
Update X16: The video is sick. Let's hope cops catch this asshole ASAP. FTVLive will NOT post this video!!!!!
Update X15: Suspect posted video of shooting on his Twitter feed! Screen cap of gun pointed right at Parker:
Update X14: Word is that the suspect's name is Vester Lee Flanagan (not Lester). One source says that his on air name at the station was Bryce Williams.
Just seconds ago, Bryce Williams sent these tweets. He appears to be tweeting while on the run:
Update X13: Police are stationed along I-81 and I-64 looking for suspect vehicle:
Pic: Via NewsLeader.com
Update X12: This is the BOLO that police have out for the shooter:
Update X11: Viewers are starting to drop off flowers and cards at the station:
Update X10: Sources say that WDBJ Photographer Adam Ward was engaged to Melissa Ott who was a Producer for the morning show. She was in the control room as the shooting happened. Word is that Ott was leaving the station this week for a new job in Charlotte. Ward was planning of following her to North Carolina.
Update X9: WDBJ Main Anchor Chris Hurst tweeted out this. So sad:
Update X8: WNBC is reporting that the NYPD has stepped up security at TV stations in New York City after this morning's shooting in Roanoke.
Update X7: The third victim of the shooting was the woman that Parker was interviewing. She is Vicki Gardner, the head of regional Chamber of Commerce:
Update X6: Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe says that they know who the suspect is and believe "he was disgruntled employee of TV station."
Update X5: Word is that the cops are involved in a high speed chase on I-81 with the suspected shooter right now.
Update X4: WDBJ GM Jeffery Marks says that Photographer Adam Ward's fiancé Melissa Ott also works at the station and was in the control room as the shooting happened live on the air. -
Update X3: Word is that the police have both a name and license plate number of the suspect wanted in the shooting.
Update X2: Here is a picture of the gunman captured by Adam Ward's camera. Police are still looking for the shooter. One news crew on the scene tells FTVLive that "cops are everywhere" as they look for suspect.
WDBJ (Roanoke) was doing a live shot this morning from Bridgewater Plaza. During the live shot, a number of shots could be heard off camera.
It appears that the shooter was taking aim at the news crew. Cops say they are searching for the shooter.
Police are reporting there are three victims, according to WSLS. The shooting occurred at 6:45 a.m., according to Franklin County Sheriff Department spokesperson Phillip Young.
WSLS said police are still looking for the shooter and hope to have a description out to the public shortly.
WDBJ is just briefly mentioning the story on their website.
Update: Word is that WDBJ GM Jeffrey Marks announced on the air, "It's my very very sad duty to report... that Alison and Adam died this morning."
Allison Parker was the morning Reporter at the station. She formerly worked at WCTI NewsChannel 12 in the Jacksonville, N.C., bureau.
She was once also an intern at WDBJ.
The Photographer that was killed this morning is Adam Ward.
As a Reporter or Photographer in TV news, you know the job can be dangerous. Many a news crew is sent into war zones, riots and other dangerous situations to bring viewers the story.
WDBJ Photographer Adam Ward and Reporter Alison Parker were sent out to do a live shot at a local plaza. It is likely that danger was the last thing on their minds. It was the same type of fluff live shot you see on morning newscasts all the time.
Little did the two know that some idiot with a gun was looking to shoot them down for no apparent reason.
In San Francisco, stations have to travel to stories with security in tow. For the past couple of years, thugs have been stealing the station's cameras and gear. The last incident was scary when a new crew was pistol whipped by the thug trying to steal their gear.
But, Roanoke is a long way from San Francisco. It's a medium size market and there is no one that would have thought that Alison and Adam would have needed a security detail for a live shot at the Bridgewater Plaza.
But, the world in which we now live, the easy access to guns and many people's hatred of the media, security with news crews could be the new normal.
There are not many pictures of Adam Ward on the Internet. He was the guy behind the camera, not it front. But each picture FTVLive found of Adam, he was wearing some type of Virginia Tech shirt.
It is easily apparent that Ward was a Hokies fan.
Alison Parker is one of the few people that interned at a station and then later returned to the same station as a Reporter.
Parker and Ward were like most morning news crews. They got along like brother and sister and often complained about how little sleep they got the night before.
But, they loved having fun and loved the job (by the way, that's Adam on the left).
No one would have expected when they were sent out on a same, old same old live shot this morning, that they would not be coming back.
Thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of both.
As for stations, maybe it is time to look at security measures for your staff. No way that it should have come to this, but if it can happen in Roanoke, it can happen anywhere.
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