Vicki Gardner woke up extra early Wednesday morning to promote tourism on her local Virginia TV station.
But mid-interview, one of 15 rounds fired by former reporter Vester Lee Flanagan II struck the 61-year-old Chamber of Commerce director in the back.
Gardner, described by colleagues as dynamic and optimistic, became the killer’s only surviving victim.
“She has suffered some internal damage, but she’s stabilized right now and it looks good,” Jessica Gauldin, the chamber’s vice chairman, told The Washington Post.
Gardner, who has run the chamber for 13 years, had been promoting the upcoming 50th anniversary of Smith Mountain Lake, a sprawling recreational area with 500 miles of shoreline.
Community residents gathered Wednesday night at the United Methodist Church to pray for the beloved city leader.
“We just want her to know, and this community to know, that Vicki has been a champion for us for more than a decade,” Troy Keaton, the chamber’s chairman, said at a press conference.
“We’re going to get together as a community and stay together and make it through this.”