Virginia Shooting: 10 Things To Know About Alison Parker And Adam Ward

The news has become a very depressing vessel of seemingly endless tragedies, disasters and world issues and on Wednesday, August 26, that could not have been any more true when two journalists for WDBJ7 were killed in a shocking and disturbing on-air attack. News anchor Alison Parker, 24, and  cameraman Adam Ward, 27, were doing a live newscast at a local tourist attraction in Moneta, Virgina when they were shot and killed while filming. The alleged shooter was identified as a “disgruntled former employee” of the station and had posted videos of the shooting online via Twitter. After the first shots, Ward’s camera fell to the ground and briefly caught the shooter on camera leading to a police man hunt in which he was reportedly found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Here are 10 things we know about the victims of this shocking and senseless crime, Alison Parker and Adam Ward.

10. This first item isn’t necessarily something to know about Alison or Adam, but it’s definitely worth mentioning. While Alison Parker and Adam Ward were shot dead, there was a third shooting victim, Vicki Gardner. Gardner is the executive director at Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce and was being interviewed by Parker at the time of the shooting. She was shot in the back but survived and is currently in the hospital undergoing surgery.

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9. Alison Parker grew up in Martinsville, Virginia and started at WDBJ7 as an intern after graduating from James Madison University in 2012.

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8. Adam Ward was a video journalist for the station and had been there since 2011. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Studies from Virginia Tech.

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7. Nothing but praise for Parker from colleagues. Kimberly McBroom who was at the anchor desk when the shooting happened stated, “She was a rock star here at WDBJ. She really has done a wonderful job reporting, filling in anchoring. You throw anything at that girl, she can do it.”

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6. Similarly, the station manager praised Ward’s dedication to his job. “[He was] the kind of guy who, if he was on his way home from work and heard about something breaking, would turn around and go do it.” Both were said to bring the whole news room alive with their presence.

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5. Parker loved the outdoors and she also loved to go kayaking. She was also passionate about community theater and was a Jeopardy fanatic.

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4. Adam Ward loved talking about Virginia Tech and was well-liked by everyone including his professors and was described as a “solid Virginia Tech” who always had a smile on his face.

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3. Parker was in a serious relationship with WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst and they had been together nine months and were planning to get married, they had also just celebrated her 24th birthday. Hurst has taken to his Twitter to speak out about his girlfriend’s shocking death, in one tweet writing, “She was the most radiant woman I ever met. And for some reason she loved me back. She loved her family, her parents and her brother.”

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2. Adam Ward was engaged to a news producer at the station, Melissa Ott. It was her very last day as producer of the show having taken another job and the whole crew had celebrated with balloons and cake in the morning. Ott’s new job is in Charlotte, North Carolina and Ward planned on moving there with her.

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1. Ward had been thinking of switching jobs before the shooting. He reportedly had wanted to get out of news and told his fiancee, “I think I’m going to do something else.”