Vester Lee Flanaga, a.k.a. Bryce Williams, the suspected shooter of Adam Ward, 27-years-old, and Alison Parker, who just turned 24, recorded himself before ended the lives of his co-workers.
An official has identified the suspect in the fatal on-air shooting of a reporter and cameraman from a TV station in central Virginia. Becky Coyner with dispatch and records at the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office says the suspect is 41-year-old Vester Lee Flanagan II, of Roanoke.
Flanagan, a.k.a. Bryce Williams, a former on-air personality who worked at WDBJ-TV, had posted the video below on social media following the shooting. Warning: Viewer Discretion is advised!
(Please Note: The Full Video Runs Roughly 30 seconds longer than the edited video above. However, out of respect for the family, news outlets and friends, PPD will not show the complete content to regular viewers.)
Gov. Terry McAuliffe had said the suspect’s arrest is imminent and the suspect was believed to be a disgruntled employee of the station, WDBJ-TV. However, only part of that was true. Flanagan shot himself on Interstate 66, PPD confirms, though his condition is disputed.
WDBJ7’s photographer Adam Ward, 24, and reporter Alison Parker, 27, were killed at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Va., where an employee with the local chamber of commerce was being interviewed. Vicki Gardner, the local chamber of commerce director, was also shot in the back and taken to the hospital for emergency surgery.
The shooting occurred at 6:45 a.m. at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Va., according to Franklin County Sheriff Department spokesperson Phillip Young.
“We always say ‘senseless’ crime,” WDBJ President and General Manager Jeff Marks said on the station. “How can this individual have robbed Alison and Adam’s families of their lives and loves?”
