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“He had a reputation for being difficult to work with.”įlanagan’s former employer in Tallahassee described a similar environment 16 years ago. “Vester was an unhappy man,” Marks said during the station’s noon newscast. WDBJ-TV president and general manager Jeff Marks said Flanagan was fired from the station two years ago, and that police were called to escort him from the building. Shortly after 10 a.m., ABC said a man who identified himself as Williams called the network, saying he had shot two people and that police were after him. RELATED: The journalism YouTube reels of Vester Flanagan "He got NEARLY double the amount that Eric Harris and Dylann Klebold got. "That’s my boy right there," Williams writes of Cho. ![]() Williams also expressed his admiration for Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in 2007. "I’ve been a human powder keg for a while. ![]() but my anger has been building steadily," he continued. “The church shooting was the tipping point. The news division said it turned the document over to the authorities. And my hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them." It's unclear which initials he is referring to. “What sent me over the top was the church shooting. The Church shooting in Charleston happened on 6/17/15," he wrote. “Why did I do it? I put down a deposit for a gun on 6/19/15. In it, Williams writes that he was motivated, in part, to avenge the deaths of nine black churchgoers in Charleston in June. The case was settled out of court a year later.ĪBC News said that it received a 23-page fax on Wednesday morning from someone claiming to be Williams. The station denied the allegations, saying Flanagan was dismissed for poor performance and office misbehavior. In the suit, Flanagan said he was the victim of racial discrimination and retaliation during his nine months on the job. ![]() He filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against WTWC-TV in Tallahassee, Fla., after the station fired him in December 1999. Fisher said it was unclear if the suspect had posted the videos of the shooting himself.Īccording to public records, Flanagan, who lived in Roanoke, had no known criminal history. #Journalists shot on air video driver"The troopers approached the vehicle and found the male driver suffering from a gunshot wound."įlanagan was airlifted to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1:30 p.m.Īt a news conference, Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton said investigators had yet to establish a motive and were reviewing Flanagan's social media postings. ![]() Minutes later, the suspect vehicle ran off the road and crashed," the state police said in a statement. "He refused to stop and sped away from the trooper. Shortly before 11:30 a.m., a Virginia state trooper spotted the suspect's vehicle eastbound on Interstate 66. #Journalists shot on air video licenseFlanagan's rental car, a Chevrolet Sonic, was then picked up by a license plate reader, police said. #Journalists shot on air video updateUpdate your settings here to see it.Īt approximately 11 a.m., state police spotted Flanagan's vehicle, a 2009 Ford Mustang, at a regional airport. WDBJ’s own footage of the shooting ( warning: extremely disturbing video), filmed by Ward and broadcast live, took place as Parker was interviewing a local Chamber of Commerce official at 6:45am ET.This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Twitter and Facebook accounts that appear to belong to Flanagan featured video showing him filming the news crew and pointing a gun at them ( warning: disturbing image), and then opening fire. The accounts have been suspended, but Twitter screenshots show that he made several comments about the murdered journalists, accusing Parker of making racist comments and accusing Ward of “going to HR.” Suspect Vester Flanagan, aka Bryce Williams, a former on-air reporter for WDBJ, later shot himself on a Virginia interstate after being pursued by police, WDBJ reported, and is in “very critical condition.” (The station had reported earlier that he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot.) Reporter Alison Parker, 24, and and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, worked for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke. Graphic footage of the murder quickly spread across the internet. #Journalists shot on air video tvA gunman shot and killed a reporter and a cameraman this morning during a live TV news broadcast in Virginia. ![]()
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