The boyfriend of the Virginia reporter gunned down on live TV last month returned to the anchor desk at WDBJ-TV Monday night.
Chris Hurst shared warm words, thanking his community and the country for being his support system during the tragedy. His girlfriend, Alison Parker, was one of the two victims of the horrific crime. The other victim, Adam Ward, was a photographer for the news station, and a dear friend.
Scroll down to see Hurst's touching on-air tribute.
The two were killed on Aug. 26 as they conducted a live interview at a tourist site in Virginia. Their former colleague, Vester Lee Flanagan, shot them at point-blank range. He later took his own life as police chased him.
Hurst posted photos to Twitter remembering his bright, cheerful girlfriend.
"She'll be with me, making sure prompter doesn't stop working," he wrote as he prepared to return to work.
On-air Monday night, he explained the need to remember Allison and Adam forever. In a post to his Facebook page, he said on his first night back, he's wearing the tie Alison gave him for Valentine’s Day. The couple moved in together shortly before the shooting.
"She and I fell in love her in the newsroom, as we fondly watched each other care deeply about our communities and tried to make them better and safer," said Hurst.
He also shared with his viewers an adaptation to the Serenity Prayer that Alison's mother told him: "I will always remember to have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I have the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to make a difference."
Monday morning, he posted another touching tribute to his girlfriend, writing, "[T]his morning I rose up refreshed. Determined to honor Alison through action. It began today. I will forever miss her quite terribly."
