27 Aug, WASHINGTON : A TV reporter and a photographer were shot dead in Virginia on Wednesday morning while conducting a live interview, their TV station WDBJ7 said.
According to WDBJ7, the shooting happened during a live broadcast around 6:45 a.m. local time (1045 GMT) at a shopping mall in Moneta,
Virginia, when the two journalists were covering a story at Bridgewater Plaza. Part of the shooting was broadcasted since it was a live show.
Photo: Agency
WDBJ7 said the two slain journalists were 27-year-old photographer Adam Ward and 24-year-old TV reporter Alison Parker.
According to local media reports, the police were still searching for a gunman.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe says police are chasing the suspect in a fatal on-air shooting, and his arrest is imminent.
McAuliffe says on a radio show on WTOP that the suspect is believed to be a disgruntled employee of WDBJ-TV. He says police are pursuing the suspect on Interstate 64.
McAuliffe made the remarks during an appearance on the radio station’s regular “Ask the Governor” show on Wednesday morning. Hours earlier, a reporter and a cameraman were killed on air as they worked on a live broadcast at a shopping center in Moneta, in central Virginia.
McAuliffe says that law enforcement personnel have a photo of the suspect and that he was known to the victims.
He says: “We believe it’s a disgruntled employee of the station, and they’re in pursuit.”
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that video recorded by the station’s camera shows the male suspect holding a weapon.
The general manager of a Virginia TV station that saw a reporter and cameraman fatally shot during a live broadcast says his employees have been told to stay in the building, with police protection.
Jeffrey Marks, the president and general manager of WDBJ-TV, said hours after the Wednesday morning shooting that police advised employees to stay inside.
He told The Associated Press: “Police have advised us that as long as this person is on the loose, we should stay in the building. We have police protection.”
Gov. Terry McAuliffe has said police are pursuing a suspect on the highway. He says authorities believe the suspect is a disgruntled TV station employee. Federal law enforcement is assisting in the manhunt, and federal officials say they have no indication that the shooting was connected to terrorism.
Marks says about 50 people work at WDBJ7.
He says: “It’s the kind of place where it’s all brothers and sisters. We’re all just real heartbroken.”
Marks says a nearby TV station that is normally a competitor is covering other, unrelated news and will share video with the station. Xinhua
