TV Reporter and Photographer Killed by Former Colleague During Live Broadcast

During a live broadcast this morning around 6:45 a.m. on WDBJ-TV, Roanoke/Lynchburg's CBS affiliate, a gunman opened fire, killing reporter Alison Parker and her photographer Adam Ward. They were broadcasting live from a strip mall in Moneta, Va., near Roanoke. Parker was interviewing the Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce's Vicki Gardner when the shooting occurred, according to another local station, WSLS10. Gardner was shot in the back and was in surgery, according to the Roanoke Times. UPDATE (11:35 a.m.): Police have said they are looking for a former WDBJ employee, Vester Lee Flanagan, who went by the name Bryce Williams on air, in connection with the shooting. UPDATE (11:55 a.m.): Flanagan has killed himself shot himself (updated, see below) on I-66 in Virginia's Faquier County, state police told WDBJ. UPDATE (12:05 p.m.): Authorities now say Flanagan survived his suicide attempt. WDBJ reported live just moments ago that state police say the suspect is "in very critical condition" but alive. UPDATE (2:26 p.m.): Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton said Flanagan died at approximately 1:30 p.m. as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. UPDATE (2:55 p.m.): ABC News said it received a 23-page fax from Flanagan this morning, time-stamped two hours after the shooting. Flanagan had been calling the organization over the last few weeks, saying he wanted to pitch a story and fax information, but declining to elaborate on the story. In the document, Flanagan, who is black, wrote that his actions were triggered by his reaction to the Charleston church shooting on June 17, in which a white man, Dylann Roof, allegedly killed nine parishioners inside a black Charleston church. "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," Flanagan wrote. "What sent me over the top was the church shooting. And my hollow point bullets have the victims' initials on them." In what ABC described as an "often rambling letter," Flanagan also claimed he had suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work and had been attacked for being a gay, black man. Flanagan often complained about alleged racial discrimination at the station, former WDBJ reporter Orlando Salinas told our sister site TVSpy. On Flanagan's last day, in February 2013, he created such a "ruckus" in the newsroom that employees were put into a room for their protection and police were called to escort him from the station. Salinas said WDBJ provided security for employees for an unknown time after the incident. Flanagan appeared to be tweeting briefly today from an account he set up under his on-screen name earlier this month. His tweets included graphic video footage apparently showing him committing the murders. He also tweeted disparaging comments about Parker, along with posts including "EEOC report filed," "They hired her after that???" and "Adam went to hr on me after working with me one time!!!" The account has now been suspended by Twitter. Both Ward, 27, and Parker, 24, were from the area, according to WDBJ7. Ward attended Virginia Tech, while Parker grew up in Martinsville, Va., and attended Patrick Henry Community College and James Madison University. Parker had been dating the station's 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. anchor, Chris Hurst, for nine months, he tweeted: We didn't share this publicly, but @AParkerWDBJ7 and I were very much in love. We just moved in together. I am numb. pic.twitter.com/tUrHVwAXcN — Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015 "Our hearts are broken," said Jeff Marks, president and gm, WDBJ. Marks told CNN that Ward's fiancé, WDBJ morning show producer Melissa Ott, was in the control room and saw the shooting happen live. We love you, Alison and Adam. pic.twitter.com/hLSzQi06XE — WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) August 26, 2015

Convergent TV

TV Reporter and Photographer Killed by Former Colleague During Live Broadcast

Gunman commits suicide, leaves 23-page note

Jason Lynch

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Jason Lynch