Fatal shots: Two US journalists shot dead on live broadcast

Police hunt for suspect identified as a disgruntled station employee

VIRGINIA: Two television journalists were shot and killed in Virginia on Wednesday morning while conducting a live interview, said authorities. Police were pursuing a suspect who appeared to be a disgruntled current or former employee of the TV station.

The shooting occurred at about (1045 GMT) during an interview being broadcast live from Bridgewater Plaza, a Smith Mountain Lake recreation site. The area is in the south-central part of the state, about 190km from the capital of Richmond. The journalists were filming an interview for the morning news show of the WDBJ7 TV station in Roanoke, Virginia.

In the broadcast, shots were heard and the reporter and the person being interviewed screamed and ducked for cover. The reporter, Alison Parker, 24, and the cameraman, Adam Ward, 27, died in the incident, WDBJ7 said. The woman being interviewed was wounded.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said in interview on Washington radio station WTOP that the suspected shooter had been identified as a disgruntled current or former station employee.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office has taken the lead on apprehending the suspect, with help from state police and others, McAuliffe told WTOP. "Heartbroken over senseless murders today in Smith Mountain Lake," McAuliffe said on Twitter.

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. Nothing of this nature has happened before that any of us could recall." He said the interview was to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of Smith Mountain Lake.

The woman being interviewed was from the local chamber of commerce. She had been talking about the anniversary and tourism. "We don't make a secret of where we report from, we may start now," Marks said.

There was no word yet from the hospital on Vicki Gardner the injured woman’s condition. She is the executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2015.