Journalists tweet in solidarity after deadly on-air attack

Social media played a critical role in Wednesday's shooting of a CBS Roanoke affiliate WDBJ-TV reporter and cameraman on live television in Virginia.

Alison Parker, 24, an on-air reporter, and Adam Ward, 27, a cameraman, were doing a live interview when a gunman shot them to death.

The suspected gunman, 41-year-old Vester Lee Flanagan II, a former employee of the station, recorded the attack. He then posted a video of it to social media. The social media pages were eventually taken down.

Hours later, journalists around the country turned to social media as well.

This time it was to express solidarity with the news station where the reporter and cameraman worked. They shared photos and sentiments using the hashtag #WeStandWithWDBJ.

It started with one tweet from a journalist and her cameraman. The hashtag soon began trending.

It continued to grow. Tweets from reporters taking photos with their cameramen paying tribute began flooding in from across the country.

Anchors at their desk also tweeted their support.

And entire news stations, including CBS Dallas-Fort Worth, chimed in as well.

Both of the journalists killed had significant others who worked at the station. WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst, the boyfriend of Parker, took to social media to express his grief and shock. Ward was engaged to Melissa Ott, a morning show producer.

Many colleagues also took to Twitter to share their condolences.