Vicki Gardner has emerged from a medically induced coma after Wednesday's shooting in the US state of Virginia.
She was being interviewed on the morning news program in her position as executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce when the shooting occurred.
Journalist Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were fatally shot by a disgruntled former colleague, who claimed he had been mistreated while working at news station WDBJ.
Vester Flanagan later died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Vicki Gardner's husband, Tim, said his wife is lucky to have survived the shooting.
“Then he shot three times at my wife and she was trying to dodge everything,” he told US television.
“He missed twice and then she dived to the ground and curled up in a ball. That’s when he shot her in the back.”
He said her wife had stayed still for about 10 minutes until emergency workers arrived, at which point she walked by herself to the ambulance, despite having a bullet in her back.
Doctors removed part of Ms Gardner's colon, and are repairing damage to her intestines.
Ms Gardner is expected to make a full recovery over a period of several months.
'Are we doing everything that we can to keep communities safe?'
Parker's father, Andy Parker, urged state and federal lawmakers to take action on gun control, especially to keep firearms out of the hands of people who were mentally unstable.
Governor Terry McAuliffe vowed to press for stricter measures after visiting WDBJ7's offices. McAuliffe, governor of Virginia where the National Rife Association headquarters are located, said he would reintroduce legislation in the state assembly mandating background checks for gun buyers. The Republican-led legislature has rejected his gun control efforts since he took office last year.
"This individual had gone through a background check, the point is, you're not going to stop all the violence, you're not. The point is, are we doing everything that we possibly can to keep our communities safe as possible? If we could have background checks and one individual - next week, next month or next year - is prohibited from buying a firearm, and we save a life, then it's worth doing it," McAuliffe said.
Hillary Clinton backs push for stricter gun laws
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lent her voice to the growing calls for gun control measures.
"Now I know the politics are hard. I know that some would rather throw up their hands or give up the fight but not me. I am not going to sit by while more good people die across America," Clinton said, addressing a gathering of the Democratic National Committee.
The United States had about 34,000 firearms deaths in 2013, with almost two-thirds of them suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gun lobbyists argue that the Second Amendment of the U.S. constitution protects an individual's right to own guns and that gun ownership deters, rather than causes, crime. Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America said Andy Parker's recommendations for stricter gun control measures "would lead to the harm and death of many innocent people."
"Mr. Parker's recommendations fly in the face of all that we know about armed self-defense. Armed self-defense works. States where armed self-defense is permitted and encouraged have lower violent crime rates than states that don't," Pratt said.
Brian Malte, senior National Policy Director for the Brady Campaign, a gun control advocacy group, was pessimistic about gun control legislation passing in Republican-controlled Congress but said that changes were being made at the state level.
"We need to expand Brady background checks to all gun sales nationwide, but the way we are going to get there right now seems to be through the states. Congress isn't acting, but yet 90% of Americans support expanding Brady background checks and a vast majority of gun owners and there is no reason that Congress shouldn't act. We know on the pending proposals in Congress, if it came to a vote in the house we feel we would win," Malte said, referring to background checks that require licensed firearms sellers to check whether a buyer is prohibited from owning a gun because of a criminal history.
America's unique gun culture means there are hundreds of millions of firearms in the United States for hunting, self-defense and leisure, as well as illicit uses. No one knows how many guns there are because there is no national registry.
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