American Journalists' Deaths Mourned by Georgian Friends

Two TV journalists in the American state of Virginia were killed by a gunman live on air yesterday. WDBJ7 reporter Alison Parker and camera operator Adam Ward were shot dead.

The man who shot dead the two journalists on live TV apparently sent a rambling fax to ABC News describing himself as a "human powder keg" shortly after the attack, BBC reports. It has become known that Vester Flanagan, the killer, had been dismissed by the same station, WDBJ7, and killed himself after a police chase.

Reportedly, Flanagan was an "unhappy man" who had to be escorted from the WDBJ7 building after being dismissed in 2013. “In the fax, a man said to be Flanagan describes suffering discrimination and bullying for being gay and black,” stated reports. It seems that Alison Parker and Adam Ward were deeply appreciated by their colleagues. Station manager Jeff Marks said: "I cannot tell you how much they were loved."

Notably, the WDBJ7 station was one of the American media organizations, which has been in collaboration with Georgian media. “We mourn the tragic loss of WDBJ's reporter Alison Parker and videographer Adam Ward. Our deepest condolences to their families and co-workers,” says the Georgian Media Partnership Program (GMPP). “We remember them fondly as we reminisce about them sharing their experience in broadcast journalism with GMPP program participants and staff in Roanoke,” said a statement.

Alison Parker and Adam Ward had visited Georgia last year as part of an exchange program.