The father of the 24-year-old news reporter killed shot dead on-air has spoken of his “unbearable” grief as he vowed to campaign to prevent guns getting into the hands of “crazy people”.
Andy Parker’s youngest child Alison, who had celebrated her birthday only last week, was killed alongside 27-year-old cameraman Adam Ward during a live segment on local news channel WDBJ on Wednesday in Virginia.
"My grief is unbearable," said Mr Parker, from Martinsville. "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," the banking industry recruiter told The Washington Post.
"Not hearing her voice again crushes my soul. Our family can only take solace in the fact that although her life was brief, she was so happy with it. She lived it to the fullest and her spirit will always be with us," he said in a statement.
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When Ms Parker failed to check in following her morning package, and after his wife received a text from their daughter’s network saying she had been involved in a shooting, Mr Parker said he “had a gut feeling that something was wrong”.
As events unfolded, the horrified father discovered his daughter’s killing had been captured on camera and uploaded online by the gunman, 41-year-old Vester Lee Flanagan II.
“It’s like showing those beheadings,” he said. “I am not going to watch it. I can’t watch it. I can’t watch any news. All it would do is rip out my heart further than it already it is.”
Later in the day, Mr Parker vowed on Fox News his “mission in life” is to “shame legislators into doing something about closing loopholes and background checks and making sure crazy people don’t get guns.”
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He continued: “I’m not going to let this issue drop.”
“This is not the last you’ve heard of me, this is Alison’s legacy that I want to make happen.”
Flanagan, who was dismissed from the network in 2013, shot himself on the Interstate 66 after a police chase. His third victim, Vicki Gardner, is believed to be in a stable condition in hospital.
