Here's How We Should Remember Alison Parker

Alison Parker had just moved in with her boyfriend, her WDBJ7 coworker Chris Hurst. She had recently turned 24. On the morning of August 26, she brought in flowers for her coworker Adam Ward's fiancée, Melissa Ott, since it was Ott's last day at the station where they all worked. Later that morning, she and Ward were shot and killed during a routine newscast. Authorities have named Vester Lee Flanagan, a former employee of the station with a vendetta against her and Ward, as the suspect. Later on Wednesday morning, Parker's live-in boyfriend, Chris Hurst, shared photos of her enjoying her life. These are the images we should remember Parker by, rather than the videos of her last moments that have been widely shared.

On Facebook, Hurst wrote: "We didn't share this publicly, but Alison Parker and I were very much in love. We just moved in together. I am numb. 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. 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."

Hurst added: "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. She is our morning show producer. This is unconscionable. But I WILL share her story because it is one full of life, dreams, love and amazing journalism. She just finished working on an incredible special on child abuse and it was fantastic. We will get through this and there will be justice. Your thoughts and prayers mean the world to me."

In a statement, her family described her as "vivacious, ambitious, smart, engaging, hilarious, beautiful, and immensely talented."

Parker was a victim, but she was also a normal young person: committed to her career, loyal to her friends, and in love with her boyfriend. Rather than remember her as one of two journalists shot on-air by a deranged man, we should recall her through the photos Hurst shared — images that celebrate her life, rather than focus on the tragic circumstances of her death.

Images: Chris Hurst