The father of the Virginia-based reporter who was shot and killed during a live news segment on Wednesday morning has called for improved gun regulation to stop mentally unstable people from obtaining firearms.

The incident occurred approximately 6:45 a.m. Wednesday when WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, were conducting a live interview in Franklin County, Virginia. Video footage shows that a gunman walked towards the victims and opened fire while Parker was speaking with a woman about tourism at the Bridgewater Plaza.

Virginia police identified the shooter as Vester Lee Flanagan, a television reporter known professionally as Bryce Williams. He worked for WDBJ, which serves the Roanoke-Lynchburg market, before being fired from the station two years ago. After the incident, police say the 41-year-old suspect shot and killed himself.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe described the gunman as a "distraught" and former disgruntled employee at the local news station. Officials also say that he justified the shootings on his social media pages by accusing the reporter of having made racist comments about him and the cameraman of reporting him to human resources.

His former colleagues, however, say he was hard to get along with.

"Vester was an unhappy man," said Jeff Marks, the general manager of WDBJ, adding that "He had a reputation for being difficult to work with," reports ABC News. Marks also said that Flanagan was fired "after many incidents of his anger coming forward" and that he had to be escorted from the building by police.

Following the shooting, Parker's father, Andy, stated that there is a need for stronger mental health screenings for prospective gun owners.

"I'm not going to let this issue drop," he said during an interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly. "We've got to do something about crazy people getting guns."

"I've been alternating between the shock and the grief of it," Parker said while standing next to his daughter's boyfriend, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst. "I've been holding up I guess OK, but I've been crying my eyes out all day long. It's gone back and forth, and now it's ... the anger is starting to creep in there, because this should not happen. It shouldn't have happened to someone like Alison."

Andy Parker added that he spoke to Gov. McAuliffe, who is supportive of his initiative to push for tougher gun control measures, he said.

"I'm going to do something ... whatever it takes," he said.

Hurst, who had been dating Parker for nine months, also said he would support Andy Parker's efforts and that he hopes to raise awareness about mental health issues.

"This happened to two of us, now, in the most deplorable way imaginable, and I don't know what that says," Hurst said Thursday on "Good Morning America."

"I don't know what that speaks to, but we need to continue to honor Adam and Alison's life for as long as we are here. We will not stop honoring their lives, and it will continue, and we are thankful now that there is an opportunity in death for them to be remembered across the world forever for the bright shining lights that they are."