Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
No one could have been prepared for the on-air shooting of Alison Parker and Adam Ward, a reporter and photographer at WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Virginia, on Wednesday.
The two were gunned down by former colleague, Vester Lee Flanagan, who went by the name Bryce Williams. He was fired from the station in 2013.
Flanagan fired 15 shots before turning the gun on himself later in the day.
The incident has given rise to a workplace and a community that is coming to terms with the violence and trauma.
But how do people go back to work after such a horrific event? Joseph Davis, is a core faculty member in the Crime and Intelligence Analysis Program at California State University, Fullerton. He said many people struggle with how to make the workplace normal again.
"It's not normal, it's the new normal. It's a catastrophic event that's had a far reaching effect," he said.
Compared to natural occurring events like hurricanes or earthquakes, Davis said man made events like the shooting in Roanoke are much more difficult to understand.
"When it's a senseless act of violence people have trouble coming to terms with it and recovery is a much longer process," he said.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.