reporter alison parker and photojournalist adam ward parker had just turn 24 years and was dating chris hurst who's an anchor at the tv station. ward was engaged to the morning show's producer melissa ott who watched from the control room as all of this played out. today was ott's last day at the station she was heading to new job. meanwhile parker's father has spoken with the washington post. he said that his wife first learned of shooting in a text message from the station. he says they didn't know their daughter's condition but they feared the worst when they did not hear from her. he told the post quote, my grief is unbearable. the third person shot this morning vicky gardner she has survived. parker was interviewing her about toy tourism when the shots rang out. gardner is the executive director of the smith mountain lake regional chamber of commerce. she's in stable condition after under going emergency surgery. >>> so again, a difficult day much police say 41-year-old vester lee flanagan who went by bryce williams on the air ambushed tv crew this morning at a shopping center in v

both parker and ward are hit as well as the woman being interviewed. ward's camera films the shooter, gun raised in the air as he laid dying ward's last living act capturing an image of his own murderer. >> alison parker, age 24. and adam ward, age 27, died at the scene. flanagan then fled before deputies arrived on the scene. >> reporter: at this point a manhunt is now on for a suspect who obviously is armed and extremely dangerous. it would last nearly five hours and cover roughly 200 miles. authorities say the shooter took off from the bridgewater plaza and headed northwest to the roanoke blacksburg airport in a gray mustang. while on the run he took time out to take credit for his crimes. 8:26 a.m. a manifesto from the shooter gets faxed to abc news. shortly after 10:00 a.m. a man claiming to be the shooter calls abc and tells them he's shot two people. >> shortly before 11:00 roanoke city police department located flanagan's 2009 ford mustang at the regional roanoke region airport. flanagan then left the airport in a chevrolet sonic that he had re

alison parker was just 24 years old. she was the reporter on the scene interviewing someone at the time. and adam ward, the photographer, just 27 years old. this was all live. in is some video. on the video itself you see the photographer drop down and you also hear the other victim running away screaming. ahh! they're ready! make summer awesummer with totino's pizza rolls. and get a free movie ticket when you spend $10. diis critical for brain health?n brain food, hmmm. ensure has b vitamins that help support brain health - now that's smart nutrition. ensure's complete balanced nutrition has 26 vitamins and minerals and 9 grams of protein. ensure. take life in. and i've heard it all... the well-meaning advice of friends... the guarded words of doctors... the brave resolve of loved ones... what i haven't heard... what a lot of us haven't heard nearly enough... ...is new news. over 430,000 americans are living with lung cancer today. in fact, every two and a half minutes, another person is diagnosed. although there are kn

please, alison parker, thank you so much. alison parker from wdbj in roanoke. she's just a young, enthusiastic presence. on the phone with me is deon gillery, he works at whsb. do you currently work there? >> no, not currently. but i was there a couple of years ago when alison was in her senior you're at jmu. >> and she was your intern there, right? >> yeah. carol, you have to forgive me. i'm still in shock about what happened this morning. i talked to some old co-workers about it and we were just flabbergasted. we work in the media and we get paid to talk for a living. and something like this this happens and we're speechless. so it's mind-boggling that this would happen to such a great person. >> tell us about her. >> even when she was my intern, she was always so eager to learn. i taught her how to produce and she would go out on stories with me. she was just so enthusiastic. and she was doing what she loved. she got her first job after graduating -- she got a job in north carolina and she worked there a little while. then she was able to go to roanoke which

parker and her boyfriend had just wrofd in together. they say they were saving up for a face together and ring. you can hear more from hurst he will be on the "today" show after "today in the bay" at 7:00 this morning. live in our san francisco newsroom, stephanie chuang, "today in the bay." >>> an emotional day to be sure. thank you very much, stephanie. mean time, the gunman, vester flanagan, grew up in oakland and attended san francisco state. his family is expressing their remorse and sadness offer the ra jik deaths. flanagan known as bryce williams in some tv markets interned at the cbs station here kpix after receiving a degree in. it v and radio at san francisco state. had his last listed bay area address was in vallejo where he lived for several years near his father, a former nfl football player. the 41-year-old grew up in oakland where he attended public schools. yesterday a family friend delivered a message from the flanagan family. >> it is can with happy hearts and deep sadness we express our deepest kond ens wills to the f

he described parker as the most radiant moment he had ever kno known. they hadn't even shared the relationship publicly until today. hurst who lived in malvern and actually a tended temple university says the two wanted to get married some day. both hurst and parker's father appeared on fox news about an hour ago to talk about the 24-year-old murdered on live television. >> only 24 years old. she only turned 24 a week ago, and yet she lived a great life. i mean she did a lot of stuff. she excelled at everything she did. and she loved what she did. she loved the people that she work with. she was happy with her place in life. she would always text me. we would always be concerned. teching each other when we got to work safely and she teched me good night, sweet boy and that was the last i ever heard from her. >> now parker's father says his daughter's goal one day was to be a national tv reporter. both victims who died had been dating co-workers at that roanoke tv station. iain. >> chris, thank you. this story has not stopped developing since it first br

that is crisp hearst, the boyfriend alison parker. these two had theirhris hearst, the boyfriend alison parker. these two had their whole lives ahead of them, she was entered in journalist, bright with a passion for this job, she loved to tell a story and she had a story to tell. adam, alison parker's father and the set knotted they would go by she did not call home, check in on her family, and her boyfriend said the lesson of the received wisdom ppcul sweet dreams. listen to both of them. >> the toughest thing for me, everybody she touched loved her and she loved everybody. >> she texted that meet good night pculeet boy and that is the last i heard from her. >> reporter: let's talk about adam ward, 27 years old, morning photograg i want to bring you live to the news room, this is the wdbj face 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

parker 24. she had just moved in with her boyfriend, who is an anchor at wdbj. >> i don't know if sharing these personal memories that she made for us and no one else that now i want to share is what she would have wanted. i know what she felt in her heart about being a journalist, which is that you want to share. you want the truth to get out. >> chris said that he wanted to marry alison parker. adam ward was engaged to the newscast morning producer who was in the control room when he was shot and killed. >>> we are learning more about the man suspected of shooting the journalist. we told you that vester flanagan worked at wdvj before he was fired two years ago. we also learned he was fired from a station in tallahassee, florida. his family put out a statement saying our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's familiar less and the wdvj news family. we can not expression the hurt that we feel for the victims. our family is asking that you respect our privacies. the new concerns about social

parker's last interview was with gardner. she was shot in the back and recovering at hospital today. and as this unfolds, wdbj stays on the story. with a broken heart, but not broken. because there is no greater tribute to great reporters than to keep reporting. >> this doesn't happen in our part of the country. but yet it has and we will be forever scarred by it. >> john berman, cnn, new york. >>> welcome back, everyone. the italian coast guard says about 50 migrants were found dead inside a boat off the libyan coast. >> the swedish coast guard and european border control crews found the bodies on wednesday. about 430 people on the boat were found alive. italian media reports the victims most likely were asphyxiated. >>> some residents across europe don't want anything to do with the migrants. >> in germany, chancellor angela merkel got and earful from angry citizens on thursday. cnn's ian lee has the details. >> reporter: german police clash with anti-migrant protesters. xenophobia front and center. chance la angela merkel

parker runs off screaming. around 11:30, a state trooper spotted the suspect's car more than 170 miles away. the trooper tried to pull flanagan over, but he sped off. >> it was a minute or two later when he ran off the road. when the trooper approached the vehicle, she found flanagan suffering from a self-inflicted gun shot wound. >> reporter: two hours later he died at a local hospital. more now on the local chamber of commerce executive director vicki gardner. we're told by a colleague, she was shot in the back, underwent emergency surgery and now is in stable condition. late tonight, we received a statement from her employer calling her a bright, energetic, positive visionary leader. >> tonight, a disturbing picture is emerging of the killer. the 41-year-old former employee of the station, according to the latest information, a colleague of one of the victims, who was deeply troubled 57 ed and made known he had hostility toward his former employer. what are you learning about his work history. disturbing det

on the kelly file andy parker talked about allison parker how much she loved this job. her enthusiasm for it, her plans for the future and how much she loved working with adam ward, an they also talked about their unbearable grief. >> that's the toughest thing for me that -- you know, with she -- everybody that she touched loves hurl. and she loved everybody back. >> in the midst of the gear andy parker wants to know his daughter al sole judge was a bright light. a young journalist just beginning to pex employer all of life's beautiful ponts. her live-in boyfriend chris is remembering the woman of his dreams as kind, gentle, and talented. >> andy and i have been trying to be strong today because we thought that television our duty to allison because she was a journalist and that is what she would have wanted to do is share her story. >> started look so many aspiring journalists moving up the broadcast lad or by going from tv station to tv station. she was seen as versatile and determined. a woman who hoped of being a national news reporterrer someday. and photographer a

anda, lison parker was -- and alison parker was interviewing vicki gardener at the time of the shooting. she was struck and is recovering. >> there say touching show of solidarity for the victims online. news crews around the country, including here at cbs 2 are using #westandwithwdbj and are tweeting photos of themselves. >> stay with us for continuing coverage on the news crew killed. >>> developing in brooklyn, police are searching for an attempted rape suspect. he grabbed a 34 yeermd woman on 74th street in bensonhurst. when the victim resisted, the suspect ran off. >>> divers will resume looking for tom anderson tomorrow. his sunken troler was found this morning in the sandy hook channel. he was believed to be on board alone, and the recovery mission was suspended earlier this afternoon because of dangerous water currents. >>> an update to a story we first brought you last night as cbs 2 stepped in to help mary jean kohler of brooklyn who was terrified by a pair of huge hornets' nests in front of her home. she was worried about children in an upcoming block party. she asked the cit

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 flanagan's background. >>> some breaking news right now in fairfax county. not far from mt. vernon. police and fire crews are searching the area around little hunting creek where ther

and the parker home, if you've heard from the parkers this week, you know they must have instilled in alison her drive to excellence, her confidence and her positive nature. i want to play softball with adam again. and i want to see alison dance. and i will in the wonderful memories they gave me, they gave us. >> all right. the general manager there, jeff marks at wdbj, playing tribute to alison parker and adam ward. and we'll be right back. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. my psoriatic arthritis caused joint pain. just like my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. and i was worried about joint damage. my doctor said joint pain from ra can be a sign of existing joint damage that could only get worse. he prescribed enbrel to help relieve pain and help stop further damage. enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common, or if you're prone to

he killed wdbj reporter alibi son parker and photographer adam ward and injured the woman who parker was interviewing. williams was a former reporter at that station. police chased him on a have a is a highway where they say he turn the gun on himself. he later died at the hospital. coming up at 5:15 arc closer look at the role social media is now playing in crimes like these. we'll talk to a psychologist about what happened today and the mind set of the shooter. we of course will continue to stay on top of this story and bring you any updates on our website. just head to myfoxphilly.com and look for the latest right there on the home page. >>> hundreds of pages of documents unsealed by the highest court in pennsylvania. all relating to the criminal charges against attorney general kathleen kane. the high-level conspiracy she says it revealed. plus how simple sign and kindness from stranger gave new life to woman who was losing her seven year battle with kidney disease. >> a woman struck by lightning. she says it came right through her cable box. what she says she was doing at the ti

to allison parker and adam ward and vickie parker who was shot during the live report. people have been dropping off flowers, balloons and messages outside the tv station. allison parker and adam ward were like family. >>> we're hearing from the people who knew parker and ward the best, their loved ones. >> i have been all tear nateing between the -- alternating between the shock and the grief. parker's father and boyfriend, they spoke with megyn kelly last night. they called their grief unbelievable. >> i come home after the 11:00 news and pack her a lunch and kiss her good-bye. she would text me, we would text each other when we got to work safely. >> parker's boy friend anchors the evening news, they were talking about mer able, -- marriage. her last text to him read good night sweet boy. >> the photographer who lost his life was engaged to the morning news producer and was going to follow her to her new job. he was described by those who knew him as a happy-go-lucky. >> he was a giant teddy bear, he was just the sweetest guy, willing to help you out and do anything

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

he was also parker's boy friend. he felt compelled to share his memories of his coworkers. >> it was going to be important for us to share her story tan love she had for this job and this station and for me and her family and friends. we also need to do the same for adam as well and for melissa, his fiancee. i decide i was okay, enough to do what i the only thing i know how to do which is communicate. and as a journalist i felt it was important that we had to immediately as people are trying to wrap their arms around us, that we be there. >> we are also hearing from parker and ward's families. take a listen. >> i have been alternating between the shock and grief. i am holding up, i guess, okay. i have been crying all day long. >> as you can see from that video parker's father sat next to hurst in an interview with megan kelley. also mentioned the broadcast that the universities were r ward and parker graduated from are planning to create scholarships in their name. the out pouring of support and memories keep pouring

parker was his girlfriend of nine months, and had just moved in with him. >>"she was the most radiant woman i ever met," he posted on social media today. "and for some reason she loved me back. >> reporter:any senseless death is painful, but this hits home for many of us. as the story continues to unfold. the station - wdbj stays on the story. because after all, there's no greater tribute to reporters than to keep reporting. >> reporter:pam? >> pam:we have a lot more on this story tonight. >> pam:coming up at 8-30.we talk to a local psychologist about can have on people -- like the video the gunman posted to social media today. ... >> pam:happening now. >> pam:firefighters cleaning up after a fire destroyed two businesses at a santa clara strip mall. >> pam:tonight, police are looking for a person who may have triggered the explosion. kron-4's scott rates joins us live. >> pam:scott? >> reporter:happening now. >> reporter:firefighters cleaning up after a fire destroyed two businesses at a santa clara strip mall. tonight, police are looking for a person who

parker -- i don't know if he can be called a disgruntled employee. the question s wis, was he a stalker? did he have some interest in ms. parker and she didn't return that interest? was he ranangry at life in gene? we'll never get the exact motive, because when police try to find out the motive, we're dealing with somebody who is probably psychopathic. >> pat, let me interrupt you real quick, because we at least at this hour, according to the governor, know that he is described as a disgruntled employee. to be labeled that, we would assume -- to be labeled that, we would have received some information from authorities, at least, from the television station of perhaps a history so that they would identify him as disgruntled. >> they can identify him that way, that's entirely fine. what i'm pointing out is we try to figure out the motive behind somebody who is a disturbed psychopathic individual. they have reasons for doing things like i never got the attention i wanted, i never got the position i wanted, the woman never showed me any respect. they're

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

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

. >> reporter: a growing memorial outside wdbj is focused on the lives of parker and ward. late wednesday, the community mourned their loss together. a station used to covering the news, now the center of a tragic story of its own. that woman being intersued at the time of the shooting was also hit. she is now in stable condition. meanwhile, scholarships are being established in the name of parker and ward, a way to pay tribute to theewo lost lives. >> sarah, thank you very much. >>> family and friends still trying to come to grips with the loss of alison parker and adam ward, they're described as ou-getters as you heard the general manager of that station say wha who were dedicated to their jobs. she had recently moved in with her co-worker and boyfriend, chris hearst. they celebratev her 24th birthday. hearst shared wir last words to him. sweet boy. i was startled awake this morning from phone calls from the station telling me that there had been a shooting on live televisionnd i needed to come to the station. >> meanwhile, ward's fiance, melissa ott was watching from the

parker's parents described her as happy and radiant. the station said she had a passion for hard news. the photographer adam ward was engaged to the morning show producer. yesterday was her last day there. ward graduated from virginia tech. he was 27 years old. a third victim is recovering right now. ward and parker were interviewing vicki guarder in charge of the chamber of commerce. she is in stable condition right now. >>> as for the suspected shooter he is dead morning. vester flanagan shot himself on i-66 in fauquier county. he died in the inova fairfax hospital. he went by the name of price williams on the air. not long after the shooting he posted angry comments online, seemingly justifying the shooting on facebook and twitter. and this is how police say they found him. now one reporter at wdbj says she wants anyone who can -- who can to remember the victims in a special way today. you take a look here, she made this for the victims to honor parker and ward. the reporter says they have turquoise because that was parker's favorite

alison parker in her own words. you will hear from her next. ♪ if you can't stand the heat, get off the test track. get the mercedes-benz you've been burning for at the summer event, going on now at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. but hurry, offers end august 31st. share your summer moments in your mercedes-benz with us. ...and tkind of like you huffing sometimes, grandpa. well, when you have copd, it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said.. doctor: symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteo

he was alison parker's boyfri d boyfriend. they had just moved in together. >> this is my memory of her. when we had our six-month anniversary, she made a scrapbook for me. put in all of the pictures we spent together for the first six months. even pictures i didn't want to be in there. she put them in there. >> parker's friends and co-workers describe her as a rock star who loved her job and took a genuine interest in the people she interviewed. parker started to work full time at wdbj a year ago. he was teamed with ward on the morning show. cnn's randi kaye has more on what they both brought to journalism. >> when i was younger, i wanted to either become a doctor or become a pharmacist is. as a journalist, i get to cover those types of fields. >> this is how viewers got to know alison parker, a video produced by the station showing her smiling, full of life. >> i absolutely love mexican food. very, very spicy food, enchill lad das, tacos, the spicier the better. >> the 24-year-old virginia native signed on with wdbj last yea

and alison parker's father, andy parker, says that's what he plans to do. >> you mark my words, my mission in life, and i talked to the governor today. he called me, and i told him, i said i'm going to do something. whatever it takes to get gun legislation, to shame people, to shame legislators into doing something about closing loopholes and background checks and making sure crazy people don't get guns. >> so this conversation does seem to reignite every time we have come across one of these incidents. but you know, we've heard from the president and from the vice president as well, this is something that joe biden has worked on extensively. at this point, they have been saying we can't do anything with this congress, as you saw background check, even legislation failing in congress, even though it started off as a much more aggressive push that would have limited magazines, for example, and other gun control measures. so at this point, no indication that that status quo is about to change on capitol hill, jose. >> kasie hunt at the white house, thank you very much. i'm joined now by frez

parker, the story is so public. your daughter a public figure. her beloved boyfriend also a public figure, a main anchor at the station. the story now being politicized, making it even more public. i'm wondering if it makes it easier for you that it is public and that you can share across the country your feelings, or if this makes it far more difficult. >> i think it will be a cathartic experience for me to help me get through this, to help me find purpose and to do something for a daughter that had so much potential, that was so talented, that was so loved by people, you know. this is what i can do to start this. and if it has to be a political agenda, i was a member of the henry county board of supervisors. at this point i'm a current candidate. i decided to run again. i'm used to politics. but it's at a local level. it's time to take this to a national level and i intend to do so. again, when i talked to governor mcauliffe and i told him this was what i was going to do, he said, andy, do it. go for it. i'm right there behind you. we need poli

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 them. epurates dollars mass murders err mentioning columbine high school, and virginia tech shooter, quote, my boy. he called himself quota human powder keg that was just waiting to go boom. officials say police had to be called when bryce williams was let go two years ago, station reps say he was angry, and filed complaints that were never corroborated. he had had a history every being fired, even followe

ward and parker were a team every morning, reporting for wdbj7 in roanoke, virginia, parker had just moved in with hirst, and told they were planning a future together. hirst told us that he and allison worked opposite shift, so when he got home late at night he made her breakfast, made sure she got to work safely. yesterday he work up to the horrifying news. >> she would always text me, we would always be concerned, texting each other when we got to work safely, and she texted me good night sweet boy. that was the last i had ever heard from her, then i was startled awake this morning from phonecalls from the station telling me that there had been a shooting on live television, and i needed to come to the station. >> allison, she was only 24 years old, she only turned 24 a week ago, and yet she lived a great life. i mean, she did a loft stuff. she excelled in everything she did. and she loved what she did. she loved the people that she worked with. she was happen which her place in life. >> photographer adam ward was engage today a producer at the station, melissaott from gibbstown,

i don't think people realize before we had nate parker the actor we had nate parker the computer programmer. >> that is correct. >> right? how do you go from coding to acting? >> dating a girl who was getting into models, had to go to dallas. guy walks in to me, are you in the program? not an actor, model? no. not at all. just an important friend. you got a great look. not a lot of young african-american actors in hollywood. love to have you read this monologue. okay, well -- >> you believed him? >> it's no the that i believed hill. i didn't want to be a programmer. i was like -- one of those things, i'll try it. why not? what's the worse that can happen? read seven lines and, you know, home. thing. you got your degree. let's pray. >> what happened next sounds like an old-fashioned story of discovery. moved to l.a., agent in a week. first acting job in three months and one role he says changed his life. >> i got, my first big role. had to do research. all of a sudden i started to, came in contact with my identity, who i was, the pride of my people and then the acting thing started to shrink

alison parker, and adam ward diedt 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 tan 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 wilson 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 were retal

both parker and ward were residents of roanoke, virginia. let us not forget they grew up in this area. they were part of our community. we don't want to forget that. miss gardner was transported to the hospital where she is being treated for nonlife threatening injuries. flanagan then fled before deputies arrived on the scene. the franklin county sheriff's office with the assistance of the virginia state police immediately began a search operation in the area to locate the shooting suspect. shortly before 11:00, roanoke city police department located flanagan's 2009 ford mustang at the regional roanoke regional airport. the mustang had been recovered as evidence. flanagan then left the airport and n a chevrolet sonic that he had rented earlier in the month. during the course of the investigation, investigators were able to track the suspect as he traveled along interstate 81 and were notified local and state law enforcement along the entire interstate 81 corridor to assist us with a look out for a suspect vehicle. as has been confirmed alrea

adam ward and alison parker, let's hear from their families as well. rosanna: teresa priolo has that part of the story. >> reporter: their families and fathers and boyfriends, the wdbj web site is dedicated to adam ward and alison parker and their tv colleagues returned to the air numb, holding hands, crying to get through their newscast that they felt they had to return to honor alison parker and a good 20. >> it was yesterday around this time we went live to alison parker and the 20, they were out in the field. >> reporter: in the midst of unbearable grief that tv family of journalists alison parker and adam ward returned to the air this morning and with it they pause to reflect. >> please join us in a moment of silence. >> reporter: alison parker's dad spoke on the kelly file last night. he wants the world to know at 24 years old she was a bright light, a young journalist just beginning to explore all of life's beautiful possibilities. >> that is the toughest thing for me. everybody she touched loved her and she loved everybody back. she texted me i

i don't think people realize before we had nate parker the actor we had nate parker the computer programmer. >> that is correct. >> right? how do you go from coding to acting? >> dating a girl who was getting into models, had to go to dallas. guy walks in to me, are you in the program? not an actor, model? no. not at all. just an important friend. you got a great look. not a lot of young african-american actors in hollywood. love to have you read this monologue. okay, well -- >> you believed him? >> it's no the that i believed hill. i didn't want to be a programmer. i was like -- one of those things, i'll try it. why not? what's the worse that can happen? read seven lines and, you know, read the seven lines, calmed home. i'm going to try the acting thing. you got your degree. let's pray. >> what happened next sounds like an old-fashioned story of discovery. moved to l.a., agent in a week. first acting job in three months and one role he says changed his life. >> i got, my first big role. had to do research. all of a sudden i started to, came in contact with my identity, who i was, the pride

. >>> , i'm alison parker. >> reporter: parker was 24 years old and grew up outside roanoke and treasured her family. she had just moved in with chris hurst, her boyfriend of nine months. and he's an anchor at wdbj. >> she loved what she did. and she was going to go so far in this field and was well on her way. >> reporter: he never marged she would be in imagine -- imagined she would be in danger during yesterday's assignment. >> it was a -- harmless story. on the anniversary of this beautiful lake behind me. that we had shared some wonderful memories on ourselves. >> reporter: the photographer adam ward was 27. engaged to melissa ott, she was the morning news producer at the station. she watched the horrifying scene unfold on live tv. it happened while she was in the control room. yesterday was ott's last day working at the cbs affiliate before a new job in charlotte. the anchor said alison parker and adam ward weren't just their co-workers, they considered them to be part of their family. and called the killings unfair and unimaginable. chris? >> thank you. stay with cbs2 for continuin

the crew did focus on allison parker and adam ward. there were moments when the teen struggle -- team struggled to get through the show. >> i don't know how to do the weather on day like this. adam would say, what is the weather, almost e-o, for the live shots and i would say how do i know, and we would laugh and we who go on his way so that is a change. >> they held hands and paused for a moment silence at 6:45 eastern time when allison parker and adam were killed. the male anchor is from wdbj sister station in springfield, missouri, one of a few employees would flew in to help the greening station. allison's father is speak out saying the grief is unbear an. >> everyone she touched loved her and she loved everyone back. >> the community is reaching out to support wdbj and people gathered in front of the station last night for a vigil. her father said he will turn his pain into activism whatever it takes to get gun legislation passed. >> thank you, more details are coming out about the gunman in the shooting who spent part of his life

. >> alison parker and adam ward were known at their station as the "a" team, both of them just a few years into their careers. vicki gardner shot while being interviewed is hospitalized in stable condition. >> last night, candlelight vigils held to honor and remember the victims. abc's kenneth moton has more from moneta, virginia. kenneth, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you can see behind me virginia state police are still watching over the scene because the investigation will continue. meanwhile, this community is honoring the fallen journalists who had bright futures ahead. late into the night investigators searched for clues and answers at the home of the man accused of gunning down two roanoke, virginia, journalists on live television. >> it did not register it was gunshots. it probably should have, but she's doing a feature story. >> reporter: wdbj reporter alison parker and the man behind the camera, adam ward were in the middle of a live interview when vester flanagan opened fire. the news crew was killed. the woman they were interviewing vicki gardner seriously inju

ward and parker were interviewing vicki gardner. she was hit in the chest and rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. she is in stable condition right now. >>> and so much more to this story than we can tell you here. we have more on how the community is recovering. you can check the nbc washington app for more stories. we will find out more about the vigils going on there in roanoke in 15 minutes. >>> today's d.c. mayor is expected to ask for more power to fight crime in the district. she took her plan to council members yesterday and will make it public today. part of the plan is to allow police to search and detain people who are on probation for violent and gun related crimes. 45% of suspects arrested for murder this year had a prior gun charge. 103 people have been killed on the streets of d.c. so far this year. >>> it is now 4:31. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. and a beautiful, nice, mild start to our thursday. >> we're liking it. meteorologist chuck bell has your weather headlines. >> got two thumbs up from the

. >> alison parker and adam ward were known at their station as the "a" team, both of them just a few years into their careers. vicki gardner, who was shot while being interviewed, is hospitalized in stable condition. >> and last night, candlelight vigils were held to honor and remember the victims. abc's kenneth moton has more from moneta, virginia. kenneth, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, reena and phillip. you can see behind me virginia state police are still watching over this scene because today the intense investigation will continue. meanwhile, this community is honoring the fallen journalists who had bright futures ahead. late into the night, investigators searched for clues and answers at the home of the man accused of gunning down two roanoke, virginia, journalists on live television. >> it did not register that it was gunshots. it probably should have, but, you know, she's doing a little feature story. >> reporter: wdbj reporter alison parker and the man behind the camera, adam ward, were in the middle of a live interview when former colleague vester flanagan opene

parker trata de oÍr, se escuchan sus gritos y al menos 15 disparos. cuando la cÁmara profesional cae al piso canta la imagen de un hombre armado. fue escalofriante, que el asesino grabÓ estas imÁgenes del crimen y las enviÓ por los medios sociales. se habÍa acercado a ellos, grabando el video en su celular, se colocÓ detrÁs de la cÁmara y se puede ver su pistola. la estaciÓn cortó a la perpleja conductora, las vÍctimas fueron alison parker de 24 aÑos del camarÓgrafo adam ward. el supuesto asesino es un desempleado que el gerente dijo fue su reportero y fue despedido tambiÉn hace unos dos aÑos. dejÓ manifiesto del 23 pÁginas que enviÓ a la cadena abc. en el dice que lo motivÓ la masacre de charlestÓn, carolina del sur. compra un arma dos dÍas despuÉs. el tiroteo en la iglesia fue el punto de inflexiÓn pero mi ira ha ido aumentando de manera constante. e sido un polvorÍn humano durante los Últimos meses. solo esperando el momento de explotar. la policÍa dijo que fue perseguido y se suicidÓ de un disparo, muriÓ en un hospital

we know alison parker just turned 24 years old. she graduated from james madison university in 2012. worked in north carolina for a bit. returned home to southwest virginia. she grew up about 50 miles outside of roanoke. her colleagues said she was living her dream. now one part of parker's life that viewers learned about yesterday was that she was also dating one of the anchors there as wdbj. chris hurst. he sent this out. she was the most radiant woman i ever met. for some reason, she loved me back. 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 throu

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

. >> many of those attending says said they were watching wednesday morning when reporter allison parker and cameraman adam ward were killed while conduct aginterview. as the community mourns, we're learning more about the troubled gunman as abc's pie pierre thomas reports. >> reporter: vester flanagan committed suicide after killing his former colleagues. but newly discovered items in his getaway car suggests he may have wanted to evade authorities. police found a wig, sunglasses, a shawl, a black hat and three additional license plates, along with a nine millimeter glock pistol and six magazines of ammunition. >> bryce williams, wdbj 7. >> reporter: the former tv reporter who would kill his former co-workers in cold blood on live television, by his own accounts was a brooding, ticking time bomb. his broadcast career long marked by struggle, with flanagan repeatedly in the role of malcontent, often clashing with colleagues, claiming to be the victim. in 2014 flanagan filed a lawsuit against wdbj again claiming racial discrimination and sexual harassment, allegations the station denied.