DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF)- The Dallas community is mourning the loss of SMU graduate and journalist 50-year-old Brent Renaud who was shot to death in Ukraine over the weekend.
Renaud worked as part of a Peabody Documentary film that was capturing footage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
We join in mourning the loss of alumnus Brent Renaud, an award-winning journalist and filmmaker, killed while covering the war in Ukraine on Sunday. He’ll be remembered for many things, and his friends specifically call out his empathy and compassion,” SMU said on twitter.
Fellow SMU grad Thear Suzuki describes him as a passionate journalist and a dear friend.
“The world lost a tremendous human being who cared deeply about humanity, trying to shed light on what’s happening so he can bring more justice,” said Suzuki. “I am still in disbelief and I’m in shock. I can’t believe I lost my friend and I feel for his family. In some ways I was feeling like I was going trough this alone so I was anxious to reach out to his family,” she said.
After graduating SMU they were both enrolled in the same program together to mentor at-risk children in an Old East Dallas neighborhood.
Suzuki said they last saw each other in November when he was in town for an assignment and they had dinner together.
Among other assignments, Renaud covered wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the devastating 2011 earthquake in Haiti, political turmoil in Egypt and Libya, and extremism in Africa.
Suzuki encourages everyone to check out his amazing work and acknowledge his dedication for helping people.