Father of Alison Parker, who is campaigning for gun control, says he will have to get a firearm because ‘a lot of people take exception’ to his views

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The father of Alison Parker, the journalist shot dead on live television on Wednesday, has said that now he is campaigning for gun control he will probably have to get a firearm to defend himself.

Andy Parker, spoke to reporters on Friday after he visited the television station, WDBJ7, where his daughter worked before being murdered - along with cameraman Adam Ward - by their former colleague Vester Lee Flanagan.

He continued to push for stricter gun control in the United States, where decades of mass shootings have failed to produce meaningful reform.

“I want to go to the Virginia legislature and I want them to look me in the eye and tell me why we can’t have a reasonable proposal, any reasonable background checks, the things common sense dictates,” Parker said. “I want them to look me in the eye and tell me why they won’t support that.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The father of Alison Parker vows to fight gun violence, saying his daughter must not die in vain - link to video

He said that for any meaningful change to occur, reporters must keep reporting on gun control and politicians must stop being afraid of the powerful gun lobby, the NRA.

Yet, Parker said that he is “probably going to have to get a gun” because of the culture in the United States.

“When you’re in the media, as you know, and when you are taking on an issue like this, there are a lot of people who take exception to what you are saying, so I will probably have to do that,” Parker said.

He does not currently own a gun, but said: “I don’t want to take any chances.”

Earlier, the only survivor of the Virginia shooting has revealed new details of the terrifying event, through her husband.

Vester Flanagan: cameraman describes assignment that led to WDBJ firing Read more

On Wednesday, Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake chamber of commerce, was being interviewed by Parker and Ward when Flanagan shot all three, killing Parker and Ward and injuring Gardner.

The gunman attempted to shoot Gardner several times, but was only able to fire once because of a weapon malfunction.

Having woken from a medically induced coma, Gardner is now recovering in Carilion Roanoke Memorial hospital, her husband told ABC News.

“He pulled the trigger several times, only fired once,” Tim Gardner said on Friday morning.

Parker was interviewing Gardner at a local boardwalk, for a story on tourism. The bright lights of Ward’s camera equipment stopped Gardner from seeing the approaching gunman, her husband said.

“He shot three times at my wife and she was trying to dodge everything,” Tim Gardner said. “He missed twice and then she dove to the ground and curled up in a ball, and that’s when he walked over and shot her in the back.”

A spokesperson for the Virginia medical examiner’s office in Roanoke said Friday that both Parker and Ward died of gunshot wounds. Parker died of gunshot wounds to the head and chest, and Ward of gunshot wounds to the head and torso. Both were ruled homicides. The medical examiner’s office declined to release further details.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A look back at the short but promising careers of Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, 27, who were killed by a gunman live on air in Moneta, Virginia, on Wednesday morning.

As many as 40,000 people watched the attack as the station broadcast live to the local area, including Tim Gardner. The gunman later posted first-person videos of the murders on social media. The videos were quickly removed.

Flanagan died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, hours later. Internal memos revealed that colleagues had pushed Flanagan to seek mental health help before he was dismissed from the station for threatening behavior.

WDBJ staff members have continued to broadcast, at times nearly in tears on air. Immediately after the incident, stunned workers said they worried the gunman would come to the station.

“I immediately think, ‘Is he coming to the station to kill us all?’” WDBJ assistant news director Greg Baldwin told ABC.

News outlets across the country responded to the shooting by posting message of support on social media, under the hashtag #WeStandWithWDBJ. The shooting has also renewed calls to stop the mentally ill from obtaining guns.

The remainder of ABC’s interview with Gardner is expected to be broadcast on Friday night, on 20/20.





