A day that started in celebration at Virginia television station WDBJ7 has ended in heartbreak and devastation.

WDBJ7 journalist Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, headed out to Bridgewater Plaza for a routine assignment but tragically, never returned.

Click the owl to read about the incredible professionalism of the victims’ colleagues and loved ones:   

At about 6.30am, during Parker’s interview about tourism with Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, both Parker and Ward were shot to death at close range.

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Melissa Ott with Adam Ward. Photo: WDBJ7

A former staff member at the station, later identified as Vester Flanagan – known on air as Bryce Williams – is allegedly responsible for the horrifying attack, which he live-streamed on social media app Periscope.

Flanagan, 41, later shot himself after a police chase, while Gardner is recovering at hospital in a stable condition.

Tragically, one of the shocked colleagues reportedly watching on from the control room was Ward’s fiancee, Melissa Ott.

It was because of Ott that balloons and cake were in the WDBJ studios – it was her last day at the station.

The couple were preparing for a move to Charlotte in North Carolina, where Ott had accepted a new job.

“This was actually Melissa’s last morning producing our show,” WDBJ anchor Kimberly McBroom said on air.

“We were celebrating that with her earlier today.”

It then emerged that Parker was also romantically involved with a WDBJ7 colleague, anchor Chris Hurst.

And while it is not known whether Hurst saw the footage live, he soon took to Twitter in an emotional tribute where he announced that the pair were dating and had moved in together.

We didn’t share this publicly, but @AParkerWDBJ7 and I were very much in love. We just moved in together. I am numb. pic.twitter.com/tUrHVwAXcN

— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015

We were together almost nine months. It was the best nine months of our lives. We wanted to get married.We just celebrated her 24th birthday

— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015

She was the most radiant woman I ever met. And for some reason she loved me back. She loved her family, her parents and her brother.

— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015

I am comforted by everyone at @WDBJ7. We are a family. She worked with Adam every day. They were a team. I am heartbroken for his fiancee.

— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015

The tributes continued to flow.

Chris Hurst with Alison Parker. Photo: WDBJ7

The father of Alison Parker, Andy, said in a statement:

“Barbara, Drew and I are numb, devastated and I find my grief unbearable.

“Alison was our bright, shining light and it was cruelly extinguished by yet another crazy person with a gun.

“She excelled at everything she did and was loved by everyone she touched. She loved us dearly and we talked to her every single day.”

Andy Parker added that he was disgusted a video of the shooting went online.

“It’s like showing those beheadings. I am not going to watch it. I can’t watch it. I can’t watch any news.

“All it would do is rip out my heart further than it already is.”

As for Ward, the cameraman, he was still able to get an image of the man who killed him as he lay dying.

McBroom added: “It shows how dedicated how Adam Ward was that at that last moment his camera was rolling, he was doing his job to the last minute.”

WDBJ senior reporter Joe Dashiell also said: “I know he would’ve been the first one there to help Alison.”

Television journalists across the United States have posted photo tributes of themselves on social media accompanied by the hashtag #WeStandWithWDBJ.