Meanwhile, the folks in the grieving City of Roanoke made a pilgrimage to the station where Alison Parker and Adam Ward worked, paying respects to not just familiar faces in their living rooms, but to their neighbors.
During the news conference, reporters noted that Vester Lee Flanagan, the man who killed WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward, bought his gun legally.
The husband of Vicki Gardner, the lone survivor in the Virginia television news crew shooting, speaks out and recalls the details of the terrifying moments his wife went through. In addition, Deon Guillory, the black producer who trained Parker while she was an intern at WDBJ, gave several interviews this week in which he praised her.
Her husband, who spoke to ABC News, claims Gardner first tried dodging the bullets.
Medical experts in Roanoke, Virginia have completed a post mortem on both victims and say that the pair also received fatal wounds to their bodies.
“Vicki has shown her unbelievable strength in many ways over the years, and this week’s incident again revealed that strength and her determination”, they said. Vicki Gardner, head of the SML Chamber of Commerce, was being interviewed when she was also shot in the back.
“Then he shot three times at my wife and she was trying to dodge everything”, he said.
Victims Parker and Ward were reporting on a feature story about the 50th anniversary of the Smith Mountain Lake. She was rushed to hospital where she underwent surgery and was reported to be in good condition.
Morning anchor Kim McBroom started Friday’s broadcast by telling viewers, “another tough morning for us, but we’re soldiering on”. “And I appreciate that, but I knew those two guys”, said Parker, who unsuccessfully ran for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2007 as a Democrat.
Tributes continue to dominate the 5 a.m. newscast, although this time news unrelated to the tragedy dotted the program.
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.