--- title: Virginia TV Shooting: Vicki Gardner Is Awake and Talking description: She lost a kidney and part of her colon in the shooting that killed Alison Parker and Adam Ward canonical: https://time.com/4015734/vicki-gardner-virginia-shooting-recovery/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-28T22:53:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:32:42.169Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Third Victim of Virginia Shooting Is Awake and Talking, Family Says og:description: She lost a kidney and part of her colon in shooting that killed Alison Parker and Adam Ward og:url: https://time.com/4015734/vicki-gardner-virginia-shooting-recovery/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d4014950f8f4c15/69886181e20a87f98da8cfd9/virginia-shooting-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: REFILE - CORRECTING TYPO IN ADAM WARD'S LAST NAMEA picture of slain journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward is seen next to candles at a memorial outside of the offices for WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Virginia August 27, 2015. Parker, 24, and Ward, 27, were shot d og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Third Victim of Virginia Shooting Is Awake and Talking, Family Says twitter:description: She lost a kidney and part of her colon in shooting that killed Alison Parker and Adam Ward twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d4014950f8f4c15/69886181e20a87f98da8cfd9/virginia-shooting-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Third Victim of Virginia Shooting Is Awake and Talking, Family Says  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Aug 28, 2015 10:53 PM CUT  A picture of slain journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward is seen next to candles at a memorial outside of the offices for WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Va., Aug. on 27, 2015. A picture of slain journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward is seen next to candles at a memorial outside of the offices for WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Va., Aug. on 27, 2015.Chris Keane—Reuters  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Aug 28, 2015 10:53 PM CUT Vicki Gardner, the third woman who was hurt during the [on-air shooting of two TV journalists](http://time.com/4011147/wdbj7-virginia-shooting/ "undefined") in Virginia this week, has survived two surgeries and is awake and talking, her family said in a statement Friday. Gardner was being interviewed by WDBJ journalist Alison Parker when Vester Flanagan fired the shots that killed both Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. Gardner was shot once in the back. Her family says Gardner’s response to the shooting and subsequent surgeries revealed her strength and determination to survive. “After being injured and having witnessed the murders of Alison and Adam, she walked herself to the ambulance and called her husband to let him know what had happened,” they said in a statement to [WDBJ. ](http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/vicki-gardners-family-releases-statement/34978274 "undefined") Gardner endured two surgeries: one to address her life-threatening injuries, and the other to repair the damage done by the bullet. She lost her right kidney and had to have a portion of her colon removed, but her family said she is alert and talking. Her family also expressed condolences to the families of Parker and Ward, and said they are “heartbroken” at their loss. “Adam and Alison always made getting up in the morning a little bit easier and a lot more fun,” they wrote. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4015734/vicki-gardner-virginia-shooting-recovery/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4015734/vicki-gardner-virginia-shooting-recovery/"},"headline":"Third Victim of Virginia Shooting Is Awake and Talking, Family Says","datePublished":"2015-08-28T22:53:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:32:42.169Z","description":"She lost a kidney and part of her colon in shooting that killed Alison Parker and Adam Ward","url":"https://time.com/4015734/vicki-gardner-virginia-shooting-recovery/","keywords":["Crime","shooting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d4014950f8f4c15/69886181e20a87f98da8cfd9/virginia-shooting-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d4014950f8f4c15/69886181e20a87f98da8cfd9/virginia-shooting-memorial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"REFILE - CORRECTING TYPO IN ADAM WARD'S LAST NAMEA picture of slain journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward is seen next to candles at a memorial outside of the offices for WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Virginia August 27, 2015. 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