Bryce Williams, the man who is suspected of shooting and killing two WDBJ employees this morning during a live shot, sent ABC News a 23-page fax two hours after the shooting, saying the murder was triggered by racism.
In the document, Williams, whose legal name is Vester Lee Flanagan II wrote, “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…”
“What sent me over the top was the church shooting,” wrote Williams. “And my hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them.”
ABC says it handed the the fax over to authorities.
A man claiming to be Bryce Williams called ABC News over the last few weeks, saying he wanted to pitch a story, and wanted to fax information. He never told ABC News what the story was. This morning, a fax was in the machine (time stamped 8:26 a.m.) almost two hours after the shooting. A little after 10 a.m., he called again, and introduced himself as Bryce, but also said his legal name was Vester Lee Flanagan, and that he shot two people this morning. While on the phone, he said authorities are “after me,” and “all over the place.” He hung up. ABC News contacted the authorities immediately and provided them with the fax.
Flanagan is suspected of shooting and killing WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward from point blank range while the two were live on-air during this morning’s newscast.
TVSpy reported this morning Williams was fired from WDBJ in February 2013. Orlando Salinas, who was hired on the same day as Williams, told TVSpy the former reporter often complained about racism.