By — Hari Sreenivasan Hari Sreenivasan By — Andrew Mach Andrew Mach Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/journalist-recalls-passionate-dedicated-former-colleague-luke-sommers Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Recalling Luke Somers as a ‘passionate’ and ‘dedicated’ colleague Nation Dec 6, 2014 6:25 PM EDT American photojournalist Luke Somers, who was killed by his Al Qaeda captors during a failed U.S.-led rescue attempt, was remembered on Saturday by colleagues who knew him in Yemen, including NewsHour Desk Assistant Tik Root. “It really hit home with a lot of us,” said Root, describing Somers’s capture in September of 2013. “He was kidnapped in front of a supermarket that we all shopped at, at a time of day when we could have gone there,” Root said in an interview. “And he was doing nothing out of the ordinary. We were very much aware that it could have been any one of us.” In light of President Barack Obama’s announcement that 33-year-old Somers was among two hostages killed “at the hands of Al-Qaida terrorists” during a rescue attempt conducted by U.S. forces in Yemen, Root published a blog post with some of Somers’s photos showcasing his work in Yemen. Root said Somers was working as a teacher when Root met him in Yemen — until the Arab Spring uprising broke out in the country. That’s when Somers picked up a camera. “I think one of the things that really shone through with Luke was his love of the country and of the people; that was pretty undeniable,” Root said. “And I think, like a lot of people during that time, he was inspired to document what was happening around him.” Watch our full conversation below: We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Hari Sreenivasan Hari Sreenivasan Hari Sreenivasan joined the PBS NewsHour in 2009. He is the Anchor of PBS NewsHour Weekend and a Senior Correspondent for the nightly program. @hari By — Andrew Mach Andrew Mach Andrew Mach is a former Digital Editor for PBS NewsHour in New York City, where he manages the online editorial direction of the national broadcast's weekend edition. Formerly, Mach was a news editor and staff writer for NBC News. He's also written for the Christian Science Monitor in Boston and had stints at ABC News, the Washington Post and German network ZDF in Berlin, in addition to reporting for an investigative journalism project in Phoenix. Mach was a recipient of the 2016 Kiplinger Fellowship, the 2015 RIAS German/American Exchange fellowship by the Radio Television Digital News Foundation and the 2012 Berlin Capital Program Fulbright. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a native of Aberdeen, South Dakota. @andrewjmach
American photojournalist Luke Somers, who was killed by his Al Qaeda captors during a failed U.S.-led rescue attempt, was remembered on Saturday by colleagues who knew him in Yemen, including NewsHour Desk Assistant Tik Root. “It really hit home with a lot of us,” said Root, describing Somers’s capture in September of 2013. “He was kidnapped in front of a supermarket that we all shopped at, at a time of day when we could have gone there,” Root said in an interview. “And he was doing nothing out of the ordinary. We were very much aware that it could have been any one of us.” In light of President Barack Obama’s announcement that 33-year-old Somers was among two hostages killed “at the hands of Al-Qaida terrorists” during a rescue attempt conducted by U.S. forces in Yemen, Root published a blog post with some of Somers’s photos showcasing his work in Yemen. Root said Somers was working as a teacher when Root met him in Yemen — until the Arab Spring uprising broke out in the country. That’s when Somers picked up a camera. “I think one of the things that really shone through with Luke was his love of the country and of the people; that was pretty undeniable,” Root said. “And I think, like a lot of people during that time, he was inspired to document what was happening around him.” Watch our full conversation below: We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now