Father of slain reporter: ‘Is this real? Am I going to wake up?’

The father of reporter Alison Parker, who was killed Wednesday morning when a gunman opened fire on her and a cameraman during a live interview, is speaking out on the “unbearable” grief he and his wife are experiencing since learning of their daughter’s death.

Andy Parker knew something was wrong after his wife, Barbara, received an alarming text message from Alison’s TV station, WDBJ, but not from Alison herself.

{mosads}“Initially, we had some hope, but I knew in my heart of hearts,” Parker told The Washington Post. “Alison would have called me immediately to say she was OK.”

“My grief is unbearable,” he continued. “Is this real? Am I going to wake up? I’m crying my eyes out.”

Alison and her morning news partner, cameraman Andy Ward, were gunned down on live TV. Authorities have identified the shooter as disgruntled former WDBJ employee Vester Lee Flanagan, who also goes by his on-air name Bryce Williams.

Footage of the shooting was also posted online by the suspected gunman, who later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“It’s like showing those beheadings. I am not going to watch it. I can’t watch it. I can’t watch any news,” Parker told the Post. “All it would do is rip out my heart further than it already it is.”

Drawing another parallel with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Parker said his daughter intentionally avoided conflict zones in favor of less chaotic stories.

“Some journalists want to be right out there covering ISIL. She did not want that,” he said. “She was not keen on jumping into a middle of a firefight some place.”

Read Parker’s full statement to the press below:

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. Not hearing her voice again crushes my soul. Our family can only take solace in the fact that although her life was brief, she was so happy with it. She lived it to the fullest and her spirit will always be with us.