Nassau, Bahamas- The Bahamas Press Club condemns the horrific shooting of American journalists, Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, a 27-year-old photographer this morning in Moneta, Virginia, just outside of Roanoke, and we applaud the police for their efforts in apprehending the suspect.
According to their employer, WDBJ-7 News, the two journalists were covering a story at Bridgewater Plaza, a lakeside shopping and recreational sports plaza in Moneta when shots rang out, fatally wounding the two who where broadcasting live.
Worse still, the footage of that shooting was uploaded to social media, an action we decry, as no one deserves to be subjected to such an indignity in death, a position we wish more Bahamians would appreciate especially when it comes to scenes of local homicides.
It is now an unfortunate fact that journalists around the world today, more often than not, find themselves under fire literally and figuratively as they attempt to keep the public educated and properly informed.
What has been an occurrence common only to war zones has now skipped the ocean and sitting on our doorstep. In fact, we have seen a local journalist threatened with bodily harm in the course of producing a breaking news story.
Again, we call on all media outlets to do all in their power to protect members of this time honored profession as they continue to provide what must be described as an essential public service.
