Your alarm goes off and you probably hit snooze once or twice before rolling out of bed and into the shower. After your shower you get dressed, do your hair, brush your teeth, and head down stairs for coffee and a little breakfast before heading out the door for work. This common morning routine is second nature to most who look forward to returning home after a long day’s work. The idea that at the end of the day you will be able to return home, maybe have dinner with a loved one, and watch a little television before going to bed and restarting your daily routine in the morning is a thought taken for granted which was highlighted by the news this week.
On Wednesday, August 26, 2015 news reporter, Alison Parker and cameraman, Adam Ward were fatally shot during a live interview in Moneta, Virginia. The morning viewers watched as the camera dropped to the ground as gun shots were quickly fired and a glimpse of a man with a gun quickly went across their television screens before it cut back to the morning anchor in the studio. The man responsible for the death of both Parker and Ward is former reporter, Vester L. Flanagan II, who went by Bryce Williams. A few hours after the incident, Williams was spotted 170 miles away from the scene of the shooting. Virginia State Troopers attempted to pull him over, but Williams refused to stop and eventually drove his car into an embankment where the Troopers found that Williams had shot himself and was later pronounced dead in a Virginia hospital. While it is not entirely clear to investigators what the motive of Williams actions were, there are some key pieces of evidence to the investigation including the twenty three page fax that Williams sent to ABC News and the tweets and video he posted to his Twitter account immediately after the shooting.
A year prior the shooting, Williams was fired from the station and although the reason for his termination was never made public, it could play into the investigation. Regardless of what the motive for the shooting was, it is very evident that Williams was not mentally stable or healthy.
When Parker and Ward woke up and left their homes on Wednesday morning, they could have never imagined that they were not going to be returning home later that day and that the events of that morning would happen. Ward was engaged to be married to one of the station's producers and had been recently considering leaving news and pursuing a career in a different field. Parker, a year into her career, had just celebrated her twenty fourth birthday and was dating another reporter at the station. Families, loved ones, and coworkers now grieve the loss of these two young individuals and try to make some sense of what happened. The tragic death of these two people with their whole lives ahead of them further reinforces the idea that although we might not have complete control over our lives, it is important to live each day fully because you never know what tomorrow may bring.