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Virginia TV reporter, photographer killed in shooting during live interview
ABC News reported that it has received a fax containing a 23-page manifesto from someone named Bryce Williams,the news outlet tweeted. The document has been handed over to investigators, ABC said.
Police are seeking a former WDBJ-TV reporter in connection with the shooting deaths of a reporter and photographer on live television Wednesday, a representative of the Augusta County Sheriff’s Department said.
Vester Flanagan is driving a 2009 gray Ford Mustang, the sheriff’s representative said, stopping short of calling Flanagan a suspect.
Flanagan worked at WDBJ as a reporter for about a year using the on-air name, Bryce Williams, according to a former WDBJ employee.
Flanagan was fired from the station, though the reason was not made public, the ex-employee said.
It is believed that Flanagan is still in the Virginia area, a law enforcement source briefed on the search said.
Two videos posted on a Twitter account under the name, Bryce Williams, show someone walking up to the WDBJ news crew and pointing a gun at them.
Another tweet says, “I filmed the shooting.” The Facebook and Twitter account were suspended shortly after the tweets.
One of the videos shows the gunman approaching WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward as Parker conducted a routine interview about a local story outside Moneta, Virginia.
Ward’s back is to the gunman. Parker is in profile, and the interviewee is facing the gunman. The shooter appears to take his time aiming the gun, presenting it and then withdrawing it, before composing the angle of his video. He opens fire on Parker first. Both Parker and the interviewee scream.
On air, the audience saw the camera fall to the ground and caught the briefest glimpse of a man who appeared to point a gun toward the downed cameraman.
The station cut away to a shocked anchor, Kimberly McBroom, back in the studio.
Parker, 24, and photographer Adam Ward, 27, were killed at Bridgewater Plaza near Moneta, the station reported later. READ MORE
MONETA, Va. – A suspect in the deadly shooting of a television reporter and cameraman Wednesday morning shot himself, CBS Roanoke affiliate WDBJ-TV reports, citing the Virginia State Police.
The station previously reported, citing the state police, that the suspect died of his wounds. The suspect’s condition is critical.
Multiple sources confirmed to CBS News that the suspect has been identified as Vester Flanagan.
The suspect, described as a disgruntled station employee, used the name Bryce Williams on television. A Twitter account belonging to a person using that name posted two videos of the shooting from the gunman’s perspective. The account has since been suspended.
During an appearance on WTOP-FM’s “Ask the Governor” on Wednesday morning, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said that the suspect was known to the victims. McAuliffe said the shooter was believed to be a disgruntled employee of the TV station. Read more
Shooting Dead Reporter And Cameraman In Virginia