Reporter, Photographer Dead After Shooter Opens Fire on WDBJ7 TV Crew (+Video)

Adam Ward, right, was 27-years-old. Alison Parker, left, just turned 24. (Photo: WDBJ7)

DEVELOPING: A reporter and her cameraman have been shot and killed by an active shooter at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Virginia, according to WDBJ7. Video from the scene appears to show a WDBJ7 media crew being attacked in the midst of a live report, and the station confirmed the shooting involved one of its crews. WDBJ7’s photographer Adam Ward, 24, and reporter Alison Parker, 27, were killed. There were three victims in the attack.

“It is with extreme sadness that we report WDBJ7’s Alison Parker and Adam Ward were killed in an attack this morning,” the station said in a statement.

PPD can confirm that deputies from Franklin County and Bedford County are chasing the suspect down Interstate 81. Vicki Gardner, the local chamber of commerce director, was also shot in the back and taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. The shooting occurred at 6:45 a.m., according to Franklin County Sheriff Department spokesperson Phillip Young.

Although cops have determined the male suspect’s name and license plate number, they have not yet released any identifying information. Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe tells WTOP that police are currently “in active pursuit” of a suspect and expect to have him in custody soon.

“We believe it was a disgruntled employee who fired at the TV crew. Not a case of terrorism. It is a criminal case,” McAuliffe said, adding that the police are pursuing the suspect down I-64, which runs east to west across Virginia. McAuliffe says his arrest is “imminent.”

Bridgewater Plaza, on Smith Mountain Lake, is located in Moneta roughly 25 miles East of Roanoke. The station said Adam graduated from Salem High School and Virginia Tech, while Alison grew up in Martinsville and attended Patrick Henry Community College and James Madison University. Both Parker and Ward were in relationships with other employees who worked at the show, and Ward’s fiancee was reportedly in the control room and watched as the shooting happened.