VIrginia AG joins vigil for shooting victims

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring joined several hundred Roanoke-area residents Thursday night at a candlelight vigil outside television station WDBJ to remember station employees Alison Parker and Adam Ward.

The two were shot and killed Wednesday morning during a live broadcast.

Herring said he wanted to be there "to let all the folks in the community know that the entire commonwealth is thinking about them."

Herring, who has advocated gun control measures, said, "We need to quit thinking we can walk away from tragedies like this and that the problem is going to go away by itself."

The vigil was organized by a community group, Stop the Violence Star City.

Many of those who attended the vigil said they had been watching the station when the shooting occurred and that the tragedy hit close to home.

The husband of on-air shooting survivor Vicki Gardner says his wife lost a kidney and part of her colon, and faces three months of convalescence.

Tim Gardner said Thursday in a telephone interview his heart goes out to the families of Roanoke, Virginia, television reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. They were killed Wednesday by gunman Vester Flanagan as they interviewed Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Despite his sorrow, Tim Gardner says he's overjoyed that his wife of 40 years is alive. He says she was shot on the right side of her lower back while dropping to the ground in an attempt to avoid the bullets.

He said, "I would hate to have lost my partner of 40 years to a madman."

He says his wife is in good spirits, surrounded by family members at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

He says Vicki didn't hear any reaction from the WDBJ-TV journalists as Flanagan approached them. Flanagan had been fired from the station in 2013.

A memorial service has been scheduled for slain television cameraman Adam Ward.

Ward's obituary says a ceremony will be held Tuesday at First Baptist Church in Roanoke. On Monday, Ward's family will receive friends at Salem High School.

Ward was an avid Virginia Tech and Salem High School fan. The family is encouraging those who attend to wear the schools' colors.

Ward's obituary notes that he played football, often painting his chest in frigid weather at Virginia Tech games.

Ward was engaged to WDBJ-TV producer Melissa Ott. They planned to marry in July.

The owners of a shopping plaza where two journalists were fatally shot on air have replaced the floorboards in a breezeway where the shooting occurred.

The owners said at a brief news conference that businesses in Bridgewater Plaza will reopen Friday. They did not take questions.

Major Harry Clingenpeel of the Franklin County Sheriff's office confirmed that a spot with about a dozen new, pale-yellow boards was the place the shooting occurred.

No bullet holes or other signs of violence were apparent Thursday.

(© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed)