‘A moment that none of us will ever forget’
Show goes on after two colleagues shot dead on air
The colleagues of two journalists shot to death on live television returned to their morning show Thursday with memories, tears and a determination to carry on.
WDBJ-TV’s “Mornin’” show opened with images of reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward, with the words “In Memory.”
“We come to you with heavy hearts. Two of our own were shot during a live shot yesterday morning,” said Kim McBroom, the anchor whose open-mouthed shock was seen around the world Wednesday after Ward’s camera recorded the fatal attack by a disgruntled former colleague.
Perhaps the most poignant segment came when McBroom, weatherman Leo Hirsbrunner, and an anchor from a sister station who came to help out, joined hands for a moment of silence at 6:45 a.m., 24 hours after the shots rang out.
“We are approaching a moment that none of us will ever forget,” McBroom said, her voice faltering as the show went silent.
“It’s not easy,” McBroom said during a break, after her voice broke while reading a statement from Parker’s family.
Members of the team supported each other throughout.
“I don’t know how to do the weather on a day like this,” Hirsbrunner said.
Parker’s boyfriend, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst, appeared for a short interview.
“Alison, what great things she could have done,” Hurst said, telling viewers he needs some time away from his nighttime anchor role.
“You won’t be seeing me in my normal position for, who really knows how long. But hopefully not too long because Alison would want me back,” he said.
Ward’s family members said they weren’t ready to discuss the tragedy publicly, but his colleagues warmly remembered the cameraman. Hirsbrunner shared anecdotes about Ward’s practical jokes, including covertly placing candy wrappers on the desk that the weatherman saw while delivering his segments.
Hirsbrunner said he found one Thursday: “I still have one over there this morning, so that kind of touches me here.”
The station showed concern for the thousands of viewers whose morning routines were suddenly disrupted by horror by interviewing a grief expert for a segment on coping with tragedy. Dr. Thomas Milam talked about the importance of giving people space to grieve, and comforting children who may have seen the killings.
“This is a family here,” Milam said. “And it’s not something that’s easily created. Obviously, that’s the culture of this place, that it’s not just a business or an organization, but it is a family.”
Vester Flanagan, the former newsroom employee who the pair dead before shooting himself fatally, had become increasingly volatile in recent years, picking fights with co-workers and strangers over seemingly mundane incidents or perceived slights.
Flanagan offered a variety of motives before he killed himself Wednesday: A rambling 23-page manifesto sent to a national news network described his ambush as revenge for the killings of nine black people inside a church in South Carolina, which prompted federal hate crime charges against a white suspect. On social media, Flanagan claimed Parker and Ward had wronged him.
WDBJ-TV’s general manager, Jeffrey Marks, flatly denied that his employees did anything wrong, noting that Flanagan had been fired because of many performance and behavioural problems. Marks said he alone was probably responsible for any workplace conflicts.
The ambush appeared to be carefully planned; Flanagan had contacted ABC News weeks ago with what he claimed was a story tip, had rented what he ultimately used as a getaway car and was carrying possible disguises: extra license plates, a wig, shawl, sunglasses and a hat. After the killing, he texted a friend suggesting he had “done something stupid,” investigators wrote in a search warrant.
Flanagan’s grudge against the local station dated to 2013, when he sued WDBJ a month after he was fired, claiming racial discrimination.
Court documents show he was fired for what managers called poor performance and an unending stream of conflicts with coworkers.