Two beloved Virginia journalists were shot and killed Wednesday morning when a gunman opened fire in a shocking moment caught on live television.

Reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, worked for Roanoke-based news station WDBJ and were broadcasting from Smith Mountain Lake in the community of Moneta when multiple gunshots rang out around 6:45 a.m. Parker screamed and ducked before the camera turned off. Parker and Ward both died at the scene. Vicki Gardner, the executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce who Parker was interviewing at the time, was struck in the back and is in stable condition after undergoing surgery at a local hospital.

Police say the gunman was 41-year-old Vester Lee Flanagan, a former WDBJ reporter who went by “Bryce Williams” on air. Flanagan fled the scene, and law enforcement ultimately caught up to him at around 11:30 a.m., when his vehicle went off the highway and crashed. Officials found Flanagan suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, but died of his injuries at around 1:30 p.m.

While Flanagan was running from the police, video footage of the attacks from the point of view of the shooter were posted to social media accounts bearing the name Bryce Williams. Tweets sent from the Williams account accused Parker of being “racist” and complained that Ward had once “sent [him] to HR.” Twitter and Facebook suspended the accounts involved.

Parker and Ward, both Virginia natives, were loved and respect by their colleagues and often worked together as a team on assignments.
 
“They were special people. They’d brighten up a room every morning,” anchor Kim McBroom said in a broadcast following the attack.
 
Parker "took on the morning live reporting job with great excitement and vigor" and Ward "was universally loved," WDBJ general manager Jeff Marks  told The Associated Press.
 
“My grief is unbearable,” Parker's father told The Washington Post. “Is this real? Am I going to wake up? I am crying my eyes out. I don’t know if there’s anybody in this world or another father who could be more proud of their daughter.”

 
Shortly after the shooting, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst revealed on social media that he and Parker had been in a relationship for months and were “very much in love.” He described her as “the most radiant woman I had ever met” and that they had talked about getting married.

Ward had announced his own engagement to WDBJ morning producer Melissa Ott months ago. Ott was in the station’s control room during the shooting and  saw it happen live.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) called for stricter gun laws in the wake of the shooting, restating his support for background checks. He made the statement when asked during an online Q&A session whether he would call for tougher gun control as a result of the incident.

holy fucking shit

the article i read this morning said the outcome was unconfirmed and they simply knew shots were fired. Goddamn the footage shows the dude pointing the gun at them right before he drops the camera and the feed cuts out.