Suspect in slaying of two TV station employees in SW Virginia shoots himself and dies
Dana Hedgpeth and Justin Jouvenal
[Updated: Terror in Roanoke as journalists fatally shot on live television by angry former colleague]
The suspect in the fatal shooting of two television journalists during a live broadcast in Southwest Virginia died Wednesday afternoon at a Washington area hospital after reportedly shooting himself during a chase on a highway west of the city.
Authorities say Vester Lee Flanagan II, 41, of Roanoke — who also goes by the name Bryce Williams — shot and killed television reporter Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, 27, a cameraman, videographer and photographer, as they were doing a live broadcast from Smith Mountain Lake for CBS affiliate WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Va. They both died on the scene.
A third shooting victim, Vicki Gardner, who was being interviewed by Parker, was treated at a Roanoke hospital. She is reportedly in stable condition.
[Reporter’s father: My grief is unbearable]
Flanagan, who was pronounced dead around 1:30 p.m. at Inova Fairfax Hospital, was a former employee at WDBJ and had worked with the victims. He was fired in 2013, the station’s manager said.
At an afternoon news conference, authorities said they are still trying to figure out the exact motive for the shooting and how Flanagan knew the two would be broadcasting live from that location. A sheriff official said Flanagan was “disturbed in some way.”
“It would appear things were spiraling out of control,” said Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton at the news conference.
As for the victims, Overton said Parker and Ward were well-known in the community: “They grew up in this area. They are part of the community.”
Officials said they are not sure that Ward and Parker even knew Flanagan was there before the shooting began. They also said they believe Flanagan sent a lengthy, multi-page fax to a national news organization in New York about the incident and that investigators now have a copy of it. Authorities said the incident is still under investigation.
[Recap: Aftermath of the Roanoke shooting]
A man who claimed to be the gunman sent ABC News a 23-page letter on Wednesday morning saying he was motivated by the mass shooting at a Charleston, S.C., church in June, according to the network.
“Why did I do it?” stated the fax, which was received shortly before 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. “Why did I do it? I put down a deposit for a gun on 6/19/15. The Church shooting in Charleston happened on 6/17/15…”
The document goes on to state: “What sent me over the top was the church shooting. And my hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them.”
Authorities have not confirmed that the document was sent by the shooter.
In the letter, excerpts of which were posted online by ABC News, the author references several gunmen who have carried out mass shootings across the United States. He writes that he was “influenced” by the gunman who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in 2007 and refers positively to the two teenagers who killed 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in 1999, according to ABC.
Flanagan is believed to have posted on social media videos showing him shooting the two television reporters. Screenshots taken before the video was removed from the Internet showed a gun pointed at Parker as she interviewed Gardner, the executive director at the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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