Vigils were held in Virginia after television journalist Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed during a live broadcast on 26 August. The were shot by a suspect who was a former employee of the TV station and who called himself a powder keg of anger, over what he saw as racial discrimination at work and elsewhere in the United States.
The suspect, 41-year-old Vester Flanagan, shot himself as police pursued him on a Virginia highway hours after the shooting. Flanagan, who was African-American, died later at a hospital, police said.
It is horrible, my heart hurts. Again I want to do something, I want to act, I dont really have the words or qualification to really do anything other than come out, pray and show our support, said Tom McCracken from a local community church.
Social media postings by a person who appeared to be Flanagan indicated he had grievances against the station, CBS affiliate WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Virginia, which let him go two years ago. The person also posted video that appeared to show the attack filmed from the shooters vantage point.
The network cited Flanagan as saying he had suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work. He had been attacked by black men and white women, for being a gay black man, he said.
The broadcast was abruptly interrupted by the sound of gunshots as Parker and the woman being interviewed, Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, screamed and ducked for cover.
Flanagan shot himself as Virginia State Police were closing in on a rental car on Interstate 66. Flanagans family representative in California read the condolences statement to the victims families asking media to respect their privacy.
