Virginia Shooting Raises Gun Debate
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: A community is in mourning after yet another shooting incident, this one happened on live television. How the families are pledging to honor the victims. Desperate journeys. Dangerous threat that thousands of asylum seekers are taking to get in to Europe. And hurricane Katrina ten years on. We look at how the storm changed the way New Orleans teaches its kids. From CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta, I'm George Howell. This is CNN NEWSROOM. Good day to you and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We start this hour with the very latest on the two murders, two journalists in the United States. It happened on live television, rattling the nation and sparking renewed debate over gun control here in this country. A few hours ago, a group that is working to end gun violence held a vigil for Alison Parker and Adam Ward. The gunman, Vester Flanagan, a former coworker at Virginia news station WDBJ then killed him on Wednesday during a live broadcast and later killed himself. The woman Parker was interviewing at the time of the shooting, Vicki Gardner, was also shot during the attack. We understand that she is in good condition. More on the victims, 27-year-old Ward had just gotten engaged to a producer at that television station. And 24-year-old Parker had just celebrated her birthday and had moved in with her boyfriend who is an anchor at WDBJ. Earlier, he shared more about Alison Parker and the journalist that she was. Listen.</s>CHRIS HURST, ALISON PARKER'S BOYFRIEND: She was a nerd at heart and yet displayed a beauty that I had never seen before in person and I was lucky enough that she loved me back. She was also a fantastic journalist, an excellent storyteller and she had so many more stories to tell that unfortunately won't be able to be told. So now, we have decided that we need to share her story and Adam's story needs on the shared, as well.</s>HOWELL: Exactly 24 hours after this double murder, the morning news crew at WDBJ paid an emotional tribute on air to Parker and Ward.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Approaching a moment that none of us will forget. It was yesterday around this time that we went live to Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward. They were out in the field. The story was like so many others that they did all the time. They were reporting on our hometown at bridge water plaza near Smith Mountain Lake to report on a happy event, the 50th anniversary of the lake, just a feature and it was during their conversation with Vicki Gardner about another reason why we love living here when the peacefulness of our community was shattered. As we approached that moment, we want to pause and reflect and we want to share with once again what made these two so special, not just to us but to all of our hometown for WDBJ 7 serves. Please join us now in a moment of silence</s>HOWELL: The anchors thanked viewers for their support and they shared stories about their colleagues. The station's news director later spoke explaining how the staff there is dealing with the deaths.</s>KELLY ZUBER, NEW DIRECTOR, WDBJ: I have watched anchors and reporters half an hour before a newscast be crying in the newsroom and get on that set and deliver the news to the people of southwest and central Virginia. They have had to talk about their colleagues and, you know, deal with some difficult situations. I will give you an example of our meteorologist this morning found a candy wrapper while on the air that Adam Ward had always eaten and had left somewhere. And it's those kinds of little things that are just kind of getting to us now. My sports director just said to me I lost it when I saw -- walked out and saw his car in the parking lot and had saw clothes in there. Every little thing, it's not the big things that get to us, it's the little ones.</s>HOWELL: Station lost family members. Our hearts go out to the families involved in this. Now for some information about the shooter. New information has emerged. The former co-workers are giving us insight in to his hirings and his firings and his angry outbursts at work. Also, investigators now have reason to believe he had planned a getaway after the shooting. CNN's Brian Todd has the story.</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police found a wig, sunglasses, a shawl, three license plates and six glock magazines inside of Vester Flanagan's rental car. A search warrant reveals that Flanagan he had a to do list along with the book bad with assorted handwritten letters and notes. It is unclear what was on that to do list. But we are learning new details of Flanagan's career troubles.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: County official say there --</s>TODD: As far back as 15 years ago, there were signs Flanagan had problems at work.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was in yelling incidents. Again, this is stuff that is normal, you know. There were with times when he probably misread something and became frustrated with himself.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here in the state of Georgia.</s>TODD: Flanagan moved from Savana, Georgia to Tallahassee, Florida for his first big anchor job for WTWC. According to his former news director, Flanagan's contract was not renewed in Tallahassee. Flanagan sued for racial discrimination alleging that a producer called him and another employee who was African-American monkeys. The case was settled and dismissed.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't say there was any racial discrimination.</s>TODD: Flanagan was hired by WDBJ in 2012 where he reported under the name Bryce Williams. He was fired in 2013, roughly a year later. The station's general manager said the day he was let go he became agitated and threatening. Police were called. Flanagan was escorted from the building but Roanoke police say no arrest was made. WDBJ's station manager says Flanagan was asked to seek mental health assistance and he complied.</s>JEFFREY MARKS, GENERAL MANAGER, WDBJ: We made it mandatory that he seek help from our employee assistance program. Many employees have them. They provide, you know, counselling and other services and we made it mandatory that he do that.</s>TODD: The station's former news director said Flanagan handed him a wooden cross in 2013 saying quote "you'll need this." WDBJ is over there. This is the apartment complex where Vester Flanagan lived, just a block away. Right now it is under 24/7 security. His neighbors didn't want to go on camera but said after the shooting they were made to evacuate their units as police in bomb squad teams moved in. Brian</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He got so irate, walk withed in to the woods and stayed out there for like 20 minutes.</s>TODD: He outlined his frustrations in a 23-page manifesto that he faxed to NBC news. CNN obtained a copy where he writes quote "in the final weeks of my life I put on a smiley face to disguise what was to come. Around town, I told some random strangers or people I interacted with at various businesses how I hated people, but I would often say it with a smile on my face." In that manifesto, Flanagan writes about his admiration for Virginia tech shooter</s>HOWELL: 24-year-old Alison Parker, she was doing her dream job reporting when she and Adam Ward were shot and killed. Her father, who is grief stricken by his loss has been talking to CNN and he vows he will not let her death be in vain.</s>ANDY PARKER, ALISON PARKER'S FATHER: I'm really trying hard -- I have been trying hard all day to keep this together. But, you know, as you can imagine, my heart is broken and my soul is crushed.</s>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, AC 360: Yes. I mean, I wish there were words that could all make it better but obviously there aren't.</s>PARKER: I understand.</s>COOPER: Let me ask you about what you want to do now. About where you want to go with your grief, with your anger, with all of the emotions you must be feeling. I mean, you talked already publicly about that shootings like this have to stop and that you want to do something to change things. What do you think needs to change? What do you believe can change?</s>PARKER: Well, I think what can change is we need more help from you guys that is in the media. Because you just lost someone in the fraternity. Alison was one of your own. And with the crews that I talked to and the other reporters that I've spoken with today, you know, they have all been shattered because they realize -- and they all have been -- it struck a chord because they realize that could have been them. And so, you know, what can't happen is, you know, here's another tragedy. Sandy Hook, you know, after Sandy Hook and the theater shootings, everybody thought, God, this is terrible, you know, Virginia tech, we've got to do something to keep people that are mentally disturbed -- we have to keep them away from guns and having the ability to get guns. And then what happens is obviously this story, yes, it is gone international. I've done interviews with Canadian television, with the BBC today, you know, with Spanish language stations, with German television tomorrow, you know. I didn't really intend to be a media star or whatever you want to call it, but here I am. But, you know, this can't be about 15 minutes of gee, this is a tragedy and we need to do something about it. And then next week somebody's talking about what Donald Trump's talking about, you know. What's he doing? There's got to be pressure and there is got to be continued pressure on -- with the media going after politicians and affecting a change. I want to look -- I want to address the members of the committees involved in the Virginia general assembly. I want them to look me in the eye and say, gee, you know, we can't support any kind of other measures with regard to gun control. I want to see them do that.</s>HOWELL: Coming up, we will have more from Andy Parker and two other fathers who have lost their children to gun violence. As CNN NEWSROOM continues, we also follow refugees making a dangerous journey from their homelands in to Europe. That story next.