News Crew Massacred On Live TV -Suspect, Called 'Difficult to Work with,' Shoots Self

Journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward were killed by a gunman during a live TV interview on Aug. 26, 2015.

by Cheryl Chumley

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 has reportedly shot  himself along Interstate 66, while fleeing police. He has been hospitalized in critical condition, according to WDBJ.

Virginia State Police put out a statement, saying shortly before 11 a.m., 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. He reportedly has life-threatening injuries, police confirmed.

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 is undergoing surgery at a nearby hospital, Fox News reported.

And racism may have played  a role in the shootings.

Reportedly, the suspect 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.

Read more at WND:

http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/gunman-kills-reporter-cameraman-on-live-tv/