A gunman believed to have shot and killed a WDBJ-TV 7 journalist and cameraman during their live broadcast at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Virginia, on Wednesday morning reportedly shot himself along Interstate 66, while fleeing police. He died at about 1:30 p.m. at a hospital of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton told reporters.
Virginia State Police put out a statement, saying shortly before 11 a.m., saying troopers spotted the suspect headed in an easterly direction on I-66 and initiated a traffic stop. The suspect “sped away” and shortly after crashed to the side of the road, the statement said. Police found the male driver “suffering from a gunshot wound” and, believing him to be the suspect from the earlier shootings in Moneta, took him to the hospital for treatment.
CNN reported the crash occurred on a stretch of highway in Fauquier County, Virginia.
The Associated Press, citing police, released the suspect’s name as Vester Lee Flanagan II, age 41, of Roanoke. But he went by another name while working as a reporter at that station, as well as ones in North Carolina and Texas: Bryce Williams.
Officials with the ATF and FBI are looking at the suspect’s social-media accounts, which have been suspended, to determine his mental state and background. Various sources say he was targeting his victims, however.
Killed were Alison Parker and Adam Ward. Parker, the on-camera journalist, was 24; Ward, the photographer, was 27. A  third victim, who was being interviewed – Vicki Gardner, head of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce – was shot in the back and was listed in stable condition following surgery at a nearby hospital, Fox News reported.
And perceived racism or allegations of racism may have played a role in the shootings.
ABC News reported that it received a fax containing a 23-page manifesto from someone named Bryce Williams, acccording to a tweet. The document was handed over to investigators, ABC said. The network posted a short story reporting some of the manifesto’s contents. They show Flanagan alleging that he had been the victim of bullying and discrimination because he is gay and black.
He also said that he was compelled to respond to Dylann Roof’s massacre at a Charleston, South Carolina, church in June and he was inspired by Seung Hui Cho, who orchestrated the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.
Reportedly, Flanagan posted on his Twitter and Facebook pages that Parker had made racist remarks, and that Ward had worked with him once, but never wanted to work with him again.
Flanagan, also known as Williams, had also reportedly worked at a Tallahassee station at one point in his journalism career, but left a year later, after suing the outlet for racism. Fox News reported he seemed to have a career past that saw him work at several smaller stations around the country, but leave after a short period of employment – and then file some sort of complaint or suit. And KPIX in San Francisco, a CBS affiliate, confirmed he worked at the station as both intern and writer from 1993 and 1995.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe called the incident heartbreaking during an interview on WTOP and said the suspect appeared to be a disgruntled former employee of the television station.
He made the remarks at the same time police were reportedly physically chasing the suspect down Interstate 64, trying to apprehend him safely.
Parker and Ward were at the plaza for a story related to tourism when their killer unleashed eight bullets, firing first at Ward and then at Parker. In chilling footage that has been posted online, several shots break out and screams are heard. The camera drops to the floor and the screams continue — before the broadcast cuts away to a confused and concerned-looking anchor.
Facebook posted a clip of their live shot, as it was interrupted.
Franklin County Sheriff Department spokesman Phillip Young said the shooting occurred about 6:45 a.m., but a motive isn’t yet known. MSNBC reported Ward was engaged to a producer at the station, while Parker was romantically involved with an anchor, also at her place of work.
Chris Hurst, the station’s evening anchor, sent out tweets about his love for Parker, calling her the “most radiant woman” he’d ever met.
He also tweeted: “We didn’t share this publicly, but @AParkerWDBJ7 and I were very much in love. We just moved in together. I am numb.” And in another message: “We were together almost nine months. It was the best nine months of our lives.”
Anchors choked up on air as they confirmed the tragedy. The station’s general manager, Jeffrey Marks, said Parker and Ward were “special people” who did “great work every day.”
“[We are] very, very sad to report we have determined … that Alison and Adam died this morning … We do not know a motive, we do not know who the suspect is. … [Police] are working very diligently to track down the motive and the person responsible for this terrible crime. I cannot tell you how much they were loved. … Our hearts are broken,” said Marks.
Marks also commented on the revelation of the suspect’s identity, saying he wasn’t completely surprised.
“You know what? The police have their jobs to do … As a journalist, I’d like to say I’m surprised. I guess I’m not,” he said, on Fox News. “He as a difficult person for a lot of people to work with. …Â it would be fair to say some witnessed anger.”
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Asked why the station ultimately let Williams go, Marks said to Fox News: “Vester was not a happy man. We employed him as a reporter and he had some talent in that respect and some experience … [But] he quickly garnered a reputation as someone who was difficult to work with. … He was sort of looking out for people who would say things he could take offense to [and] after many events of his anger coming to the floor, we dismissed him. He did not take that well. We called police to escort him from the building.”
Marks also said he wasn’t sure how he wanted the incident to end. To CNN, he said: “I don’t know whether I want him to live or die.”
TMZ reported Flanagan once filed a lawsuit against WTWC-TV in Florida claiming he was called a “monkey” by a producer. In that suit, he also alleged to have overheard an “official” joke about a black murder suspect who wore gold and green grillz, characterizing him as having “collard greens” stuck in his teeth, TMZ reported. And he further claimed in the suit to have heard a manager tell fellow black employees to “stop talking ebonics,” the news outlet reported.
Flanagan then alleged he was fired from that station because he went public with what he said he heard. WTWC, meanwhile, denied Vester was fired due to anything tied to race, and said he was a terrible employee who frequently used profanity while at work. That case was settled out of court in 2001, TMZ reported.
Even before the suspect was apprehended, talk about the incident had turned political.
McAuliffe, in a televised press conference, took time out from talking about the tragedy to address a reporter’s question about “guns getting into the hands of the wrong people” and to tout the gun control measures he’s supported in the past.
“I’m trying to bring common sense [gun control] ideas” to fruition, he said, decrying the fact his General Assembly recently passed legislation he ultimately vetoed that would have let individuals “carry machine guns” and bring “loaded guns in their car,” he said.
Flanagan’s Twitter account has since been suspended, but earlier Wednesday, somebody by the name of Bryce Williams put up two videos of the shooting, in the time span that police were hunting the shooter. The video, now removed, seemed to have been filmed with a cell phone. It opens with shots of Parker and Ward from several feet away, then moves closer, ultimately coming within just a few feet of the interview scene. Shortly after, gunfire breaks out.
And these are some of the Twitter messages that were posted to the account of someone named Bryce Williams, while the police were still hunting the shooting suspect: “I filmed the shooting see Facebook.”
And another: “Adam went to hr on me after working with me one time!!!”
Yet another: “They hired her after that???”
And another: “EEOC report filed.
And one more: “Alison made racist comments.”
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