A TV show that features a scene similar to the overnight double shooting of a journalist and a cameraman on live TV has been delayed for a week.
Viewers of WDBJ, a small CBS affiliate in Moneta, Virginia, US, watched in horror as Vester Lee Flanagan II shot dead 24-year-old reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, on live TV as the two were filming a light-hearted segment.
The scene is "similar in nature" to an upcoming episode of Mr Robot, a hacking show currently screening in the US that stars Christian Slater and Rami Malek.
In a statement, USA Network said the show's season finale would be delayed for a week.
"The previously filmed season finale of Mr Robot contains a graphic scene similar in nature to today's tragic events in Virginia," it read.
"Out of respect to the victims, their families and colleagues, and our viewers, we are postponing tonight's episode. Our thoughts go out to all those affected during this difficult time."
After carrying out the shocking on-air executions, Flanagan rented a car and crashed it off the road and when police surrounded the vehicle.
They found him suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He later passed away at a hospital in Northern Virginia.
- nz