Staff at a US TV station in Virginia have held a minute’s silence in memory of the two journalists shot dead by a disgruntled ex-colleague live on air.
“We will, over time, heal from this,” WDBJ7 anchor Kim McBroom told viewers, holding hands with two colleagues.
Vester Flanagan died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound hours after he shot dead reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward on Wednesday.
The attack has prompted renewed calls for stricter gun control laws.
Memos from the station reveal Flanagan, who used the on-air name of Bryce Williams, had been ordered by the station’s bosses to seek medical help before he was fired in February 2013.
He filmed the attack and posted it on social media. In a 23-page fax he sent to ABC News, he described himself as a “human powder keg”.
Colleagues at WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Virginia, held a moment of silence at 06:45 (10:45 GMT) on Thursday – 24 hours on from the exact moment the reporter and cameraman were shot dead as they broadcast live from a shopping centre in Moneta.
“Joining hands here on the desk,” said Ms McBroom. “It’s the only way to do it.”
Outside the channel’s headquarters in Roanoke, bunches of flowers and black ribbons have been placed in memory of the two slain journalists.
