Virginia shooting victim Vicky Gardner only survived ‘because twisted gunman’s

The gunman Vester Flanagan, who used to work as a reporter for the station under the name Bryce Williams, killed his two former colleagues on Wednesday during a live broadcast and later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The man accused of fatally shooting a TV reporter and photographer during a live broadcast in southwestern Virginia Wednesday morning “very closely identified” with both foreign and domestic terrorists, according to police.

Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were conducting an interview about local tourism when hit by a barrage of bullets.

Gardner was being interviewed by WDBJ journalist Alison Parker when Vester Flanagan fired the shots that killed both Parker and cameraman Adam Ward.

It appears to be devoid of decoration, except for the refrigerator, which is plastered with photos of Flanagan, including old class pictures and modeling shots.

Flanagan made the accusations a month before he was sacked in February 2013. Tim Gardner says the gunman missed his wife twice, and she then dove to the ground, curled up in a ball, and was shot in the back.

In a fax to ABC News the day of the shooting, Flanagan, who was black, called himself a “powder keg” over what he saw as racial discrimination.

WDBJ’s assistant news director Greg Baldwin told the Daily News that Flanagan interpreted Parker’s words as references to cotton fields. “Flanagan left no indication as to his eventual destination or next/final actions” in documents also recovered from the vehicle hours after the attack. “At the appropriate time, he looks forward to working side-by-side with the families and all Virginians who want to push tougher legislation through Congress to reduce gun violence and prevent such tragedies from happening here and across the country”, said Amy Dudley, Kaine’s spokeswoman.

She said she couldn’t see the shooter approaching because of the camera’s bright lights, Mr Gardner shared with ABC News.

The governor also said he spoke to Alison Parker’s father, Andy Parker.

Tommy McDonald, president of the SEFAA, said “Ward was one of my all-time favorites because he took such an interest in his students and players, and most importantly, he cared about you as a person”.

We know as journalists not everyone is going to like us or the job that we do, but we do our jobs to the best of our abilities.