My Entire World Has Been Flipped Upside Down': N.J. Native Was Engaged to Slain Virginia Cameraman

A South Jersey native had plans to marry her cameraman boyfriend and move to North Carolina. Instead, Melissa Ott was forced to watch in horror as Adam Ward was shot and killed during a live broadcast in Virginia.

Ott, a Gibbstown native, was in the control room when Ward, 27, and reporter Alison Parker, 24, were shot and killed by former on-air reporter Vester Flanagan during a live broadcast Wednesday morning.

Her Facebook page lists her hometown as Gibbstown, NJ. She currently lives in Roanoke. They had been planning to move to Charlotte, North Carolina for Ott’s new job, according to NBC 10.

WDBJ General Manager Jeff Marks told NBC 10 Ott was “visibly devastated.”

She published the following statement via Facebook following the shooting, according to NBC-10:

“Today, my entire world was flipped upside down. Starting new adventures with my fiance, new jobs, a new city. Getting married, having a family, buying a home. Thats now taken. Im not ok. And I wont be for a long time. But the enormous outpour of love and support from so many of you near and far is so much appreciated. Adam, I will never find a man so happy, selfless, protective, funny, or charming like you. You were the one. You understood me. My soulmate. I will always love you. Please watch over me and keep me strong. Enjoy the endless tech games in your heaven. I love you so much.”

On Thursday morning, she had a long list of friends leaving their condolences, telling her to stay strong and expressing their love for her below a photo of her and Ward on her Facebook page.

Ott was formerly an intern at the Philadelphia news station.

Students from Gibbstown attend the Greenwich Township K-8 School District and Paulsboro High School.

There has been a lot of turnover in the Greenwich School District since Ott would’ve graduated, and Business Administrator Scott Campbell said he couldn’t be sure if she had attended the schools. Administrators at Paulsboro were unavailable for comment Thursday morning.

The attached image of Alison Parker and Adam Ward was originally posted on Reston Patch.