Father of slain Virginia reporter: We need to 'keep crazy people from getting guns'

Father of slain TV reporter Alison Parker spoke out for the first time since Wednesday's tragedy.

Aug 27, 2015

The father of slain TV reporter Alison Parker spoke out for the first time since Wednesday’s tragedy, saying he won’t stop until laws make it more difficult for people with mental illness to acquire guns.

Andy Parker’s daughter was shot and killed Wednesday morning while doing a live TV broadcast for WDBJ-TV in Virginia.

“How many times are we going to see an incident like this happen?” Parker asked when talking to NBC News. “You know, Newtown, Charleston, the movie theaters, you name it. It’s got to stop. It has got to stop.”

The shooter, Vester Flanagan, was employed by the local station before he was terminated in 2013. Flanagan, also known by Bryce Williams, fatally shot Parker and cameraman Adam Ward and seriously injured Vicki Gardner, head of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“We’ve got to find a way to keep crazy people from getting guns, mentally unstable people,” he told NBC News. “The people that do this are mentally unstable, and somehow they’re able to get guns.”

Flanagan, who was a reporter in multiple cities across the country, had a history of making claims of racism and threatening his co-workers. He filmed the shooting, uploaded it to his social media accounts and sent a 23-page manifesto to ABC News before taking his own life.

“I know it’s not an exact science,” the father said, “but somebody’s got to be able to identify: ‘Hey, this guy’s got some problems. He’s got some anger issues. He shouldn’t be buying a gun.'”