A man authorities say was a disgruntled employee recorded himself shooting and killing a reporter and photographer during a live news broadcast in Virginia Wednesday morning. Video of the horrific shooting was posted on the alleged gunman’s Facebook page.
Authorities identify the shooter as Vester Flanagan II, a former WDBJ employee. His on-air name was Bryce Williams.
The shooting happened live on air around 6:45 a.m. at the Bridgewater Plaza in Franklin County.
Flanagan allegedly recorded himself shooting his former co-workers and posted it on Facebook. The video has been since removed.
A video shows a person walking up while WDBJ reporter Alison Parker was interviewing a woman, Vicki Gardner, about the upcoming 50th anniversary festivities for Smith Mountain Lake, a local tourism destination. The photographer, Adam Ward, was holding the camera with his back turned during the live shot.
The shooter positioned himself, then aimed and fired, over and over again. Eight rounds were shot in all.
Parker could be heard screaming “Oh my God” as she tried to run away. Videos of the shooting have been removed from the Internet.
An anchor at the station was stunned and told viewers they were going to try and sort out the details of what happened.
Parker and Ward died at the scene. Gardner was shot in the back, police say. She was rushed to the hospital and into surgery, and was later listed in stable condition.
Ward’s camera captured an image of the gunman, still armed, after the deadly shooting. Employees recognized him as Flanagan or “Bryce,” one of their former co-workers.
Social media posts were made on Flanagan’s Twitter page explaining why he allegedly killed Parker and Ward. He claimed that Parker was a racist, and that Ward had reported him to the Human Resources Department at the station. Flanagan also allegedly sent a 23-page manifesto to a news station, alleging that the shooting was also in retaliation to Dylann Roof’s Charleston church shooting massacre in June, and was inspired by Seung Hui Cho, who orchestrated the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. The manifesto has been turned over to investigators.
Flanagan was found in his car near an airport suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was flown to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Parker, 24, and Ward, 27, were described as two fun-loving people.
Parker was romantically involved with an anchor at the station. She had been with WDBJ since she was an intern. WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst posted on Twitter that he was numb after the shooting, and that he and Parker were “very much in love.”
Ward, 27, graduated from Virginia Tech University and was engaged to a producer at the station. Co-workers described him as the “go-to guy.” His fiancee was in the control room at the station, and watching the newscast, when the shooting occurred.
