Woman Killed During Live Broadcast Was Reportedly Dating Man With Local Ties
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A gunman fatally shot a reporter and photographer during a live report Wednesday morning in Franklin County, Virginia.
WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker, 24, and videographer Adam Ward, 27, were killed and another woman was wounded in the shooting.
According to Twitter, Philadelphia-area native Chris Hurst was dating Parker. He is an anchor at the station.
Hurst is a 2005 graduate of Conestoga High School in Berwyn.
On Twitter, he said Alison "was the most radiant woman I ever met."
We didn't share this publicly, but @AParkerWDBJ7 and I were very much in love. We just moved in together. I am numb. pic.twitter.com/tUrHVwAXcN
— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015
We were together almost nine months. It was the best nine months of our lives. We wanted to get married.We just celebrated her 24th birthday
— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015
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.
— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015
I am comforted by everyone at @WDBJ7. We are a family. She worked with Adam every day. They were a team. I am heartbroken for his fiancee.
— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015
Adam Ward, the cameraman who was gunned down, was engaged to Melissa Ott, a producer at the station.
On her website, Ott says she was an intern at WPEN-FM in Philadelphia in 2010, and at NBC 10 in 2011. She graduated from Penn State University that year.
According to CBS D.C., the suspect has been identified as Vester Flanagan, who was also known by the name Bryce Williams when he was a reporter at the station. He is in critical condition after shooting himself, authorities say.