Praise for ‘World Changer’ Journalist Killed in Ukraine

American journalists Brent Renaud and Juan Arrendo were shot crossing a bridge at the Irpin checkpoint in Kyiv, Ukraine March 13. Renaud, a Southern Methodist University graduate was killed. File photo Feb. 25, Ukrainian soldiers take positions on a bridge in Kyiv. (Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

The U.S. journalist shot and killed in Kyiv on March 13 has been described as someone who cared about people and social justice.

Brent Renaud, 50, was shot with another American photojournalist, Juan Arredondo, 45, while traveling by car at the Irpin checkpoint, near Kyiv.

Renaud—who graduated from Southern Methodist University located in Dallas, Texas—was hit in the neck and killed. Arredondo was taken to hospital after being wounded in the lower back.

“Brent’s level of commitment was profound,” said SMU Professor Bruce Levy to The Epoch Times on March 14.

Brent Renaud "was absolutely a world changer," said SMU Professor Bruce Levy to The Epoch Times on March 14. Levy worked with Renaud on a pioneering outreach to at-risk children in Dallas, Texas when Renaud was a student there in 1994.  Renaud's current work with refugees was "perfectly consistent with the person I knew." Levy said.  (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Peabody Awards)

“He was one of these people who, when involved in something, was all in. He gave his all. He was someone who cared deeply about humanity and social justice.”

The university website proclaims, “World Changers Shaped Here.”

That’s what Renaud was, said Levy, who worked with him in the pioneering Inter-community Experience Program.

Renaud was a beloved figure, he said.

“Certainly, I saw the seeds of that in his earlier life. He was in an at-risk neighborhood all the time.

“He was a real community leader even then and a beloved figure by the children and parents.

“I’m not surprised at all that he documented the plight of refugees. It’s perfectly consistent with the person I knew.  He was absolutely a world changer, without a doubt.”

Levy said there had been  “an outpouring” by his former students.

Outpouring of Sadness

“I keep up with my friends and former students on social media and I let them know about Brent. There’s been an outpouring of sadness and anger about how this happened.

“Whenever a journalist dies in a situation like that, it really hits home, and affects all of us.”

Renaud graduated from SMU in 1994 with a major in English Literature and a minor in Sociology.

He had vast experience covering wars, natural disasters, and extremist military groups.

With his brother, Craig, Renaud produced programs for HBO, Discovery, PBS, and Vice news, winning a Peabody Award for “Last Chance High”—an HBO series focused on at-risk youth on Chicago’s west side.

While in hospital Arredondo relayed his story to Italian journalist Annalisa Camilli in a video interview and released to the Associated Press.

“We crossed the first bridge in Irpin—we were going to film other refugees leaving—and we got into a car. Somebody offered to take us to the other bridge, we crossed the checkpoint and they started shooting at us,” Arredondo said.

“The driver turned the car around, and my friend, Brent Renaud was shot and left behind. I saw him being shot in the neck shot and we got split.”

Arredondo was taken to by ambulance to a hospital in Kyiv, and at the time of his statement, was unaware of Renaud’s condition.

Irpin is a suburb of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Though the details of the shooting were not immediately clarified by Ukrainian authorities, it appears the pair were shot near the vehicle checkpoint by Russian forces.

Time said Renaud had been near Kyiv for a Time Studios project featuring global refugees

“We are devastated by the loss of Brent Renaud,” a statement from the company read. “Our hearts are with all of Brent’s loved ones.

‘Run and Gun’

In a 2013 interview with Filmmaker magazine, Renaud said he learned during the war in Iraq to travel lightly in a combat or disaster zone.

“More than once we witnessed network news crews with the traditional set up of a producer, soundman, and camera operator being left behind by American military units for lack of space in the vehicles.

“Large crews are seen as a liability when things get heated.

“For us getting left behind is never an option, and in Iraq, we always showed up for combat missions carrying only a small digital camera and wireless microphones that we operated ourselves.

“No tripods, no lights, no production assistant to carry equipment. Sometimes there would not be even a single seat available for a reporter in a Humvee or an armored personnel carrier, in which case we would sit on the hump under the dangling feet of the gunner working the 50-caliber machine gun, or even on top of a tank.

“Whatever it takes. Run and gun.”

An Arkansas native, Brent Renaud served as a visiting distinguished professor for the Center for Ethics in Journalism at the University of Arkansas. He and his brother founded the Little Rock Film Festival and Brent Renaud was co-founder of the Arkansas Motion Picture Institute.

He is survived by his brother, his brother’s wife, and his 11-year-old nephew.