A TV reporter and cameraman were shot and killed during a live television interview in Virginia this morning. The gunman was a former employee who recorded himself carrying out the killings and posted the video on social media after fleeing the scene.
Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, 27, were both killed while on assignment for WDBJ.
Authorities identified the suspect as a fellow journalist who had been fired from the station earlier this year. He later crashed a vehicle after fleeing a traffic stop, and pursuing troopers found him suffering from a gunshot wound believed to be self-inflicted. State police say the assailant is currently hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
The suspect has been identified as Vester Lee Flanagan II, 41, of Roanoke, by the Augusta County Sheriff's Office. Flanagan appeared on WDBJ as Bryce Williams.
Jeffrey Marks, WDBJ's president and general manager, said Flanagan had to be escorted by police out of the station when he was fired. Marks described him as "an unhappy man" and "difficult to work with," always "looking out for people to say things he could take offense to."
"Eventually after many incidents of his anger ... we dismissed him. He did not take that well," Marks explained.
Tweets posted on Williams' Twitter account Wednesday described workplace conflicts with both victims. They say Williams filed complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Parker, and that Ward had reported Williams to human resources.
Marks said Williams alleged that other employees made racially tinged comments to him, but said his EEOC claim was dismissed and none of his allegations could be corroborated.
"We think they were fabricated," Marks said.
ABC News reported that the network received a 23-page fax from someone claiming to be Williams. The network said the fax was turned over to authorities, and did not elaborate on its contents.
The shooting happened around 6:45 a.m. at Bridgewater Plaza in Franklin County, as Parker interviewed Gardner about the upcoming 50th anniversary festivities for Smith Mountain Lake, a local tourism destination.
Ward, 27, graduated from Virginia Tech University and was engaged to a producer at the station, Melissa Ott, said WDBJ spokesman Mike Morgan.
"Adam was our go-to guy. He pretty much was available to do anything that we asked," Morgan said. "He did live shots during our morning show for several years."
Parker had just turned 24 and had joined the station as an intern after attending James Madison University, where she was the editor of the school's newspaper, The Breeze. According to her Facebook page, Parker spent most of her life outside Martinsville, Virginia. She was an avid kayaker and attended community theater events in her spare time.
The station is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and serves the southwest and central part of the state. The shootings happened at a mall just off Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta, about 25 miles southeast of Roanoke.
Editor's note: The AP quotes officials who report shooting suspect Vester Flanagan died of his apparently self inflicted gunshot wound. Pat D.