MONETA, Va. -- A man suspected of shooting and killing a reporter and a cameraman on a live broadcast this morning has died after an apparent suicide, according to state officials.
The suspect, former TV reporter Vester Lee Flanagan, was said to have shot himself on Interstate 66 in Fauquier County. There was early confusion as to whether he lived or died.
Brian Moran, the state secretary of public safety, said Flanagan was pronounced dead at 1:26 p.m.
The manhunt began shortly after 6:45 a.m. after WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed during a live interview at a shopping and dining center at Smith Mountain Lake, according to multiple media reports.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m., a state trooper saw a vehicle on Interstate 66 believed to belong to the suspect and tried to stop it. The driver refused to stop and sped away, according to a state police news release. A few minutes later, the vehicle ran off the road and crashed. When troopers approached it, they found the male driver suffering a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital with injuries believed to be life-threatening.
State police said he was believed to be the suspect in the triple-shooting at the lake. They are planning a news conference for 2 p.m. at an office plaza in Hardy.
Flanagan, 41, formerly worked for WDBJ7, a CBS affiliate, under the name Bryce Williams, according to Jeff Marks, the station's president and general manager. Earlier, he had confirmed the deaths of Parker, 24, and Ward, 27. Vicki Gardner, with a local chamber of commerce, was being interviewed and also was shot in the incident. She apparently was in surgery this morning, and later listed as stable, according to media accounts.
The Roanoke Times reported that Flanagan, of Roanoke, was hired at WDBJ in 2012 and let go in 2013. Marks said on the air that Flanigan had to be escorted by police from the building when he learned that he was being fired.
In May 2014, he filed a discrimination suit against the station in Roanoke seeking money and additional damages, according to the newspaper. Flanagan made claims that members of the staff had made racial remarks, but "none of them could be corroborated," Marks said. The suit, which named most of the station's staff, later was dismissed.
Meanwhile, videos purported to be of the shooting were being posted to a Twitter account belonging to a Bryce Williams. They also were posted to a Facebook account belonging to someone of the same name. It was unclear if the accounts were set up by Flanagan. Both accounts now have been suspended.
The Tallahassee Democrat in Florida posted a story from 2000 on its website about a discrimination lawsuit filed against NBC affiliate WTWC-TV there after he was fired. In the suit, the story says, he claimed that members of the station's staff made racially offensive remarks and he was fired for complaining about it.
Earlier this morning, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said police knew who the suspect was and added that the incident was not an act of terrorism: "We believe it's a disgruntled employee from the TV station," he said. "Obviously, we know he is armed." McAuliffe's comments came this morning on the WTOP radio show "Ask the Governor."
At first, McAuliffe said police were in pursuit of a suspect and WTOP later reported that there was not an actual highway pursuit. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation.
"They know the individual," McAuliffe said. "They know the car." And they will make an arrest "in a peaceful manner," he added.
McAuliffe said police believed the man had spoken with a friend by phone.
"He's distraught," McAuliffe said.
Virginia State Police released a statement denying they were involved in a highway pursuit of a suspect.
Bedford County schools were on lockdown, a school division spokesman told CNN.
The station has chosen not to run the video of the shooting for now, said Marks, station president and general manager.
"They were really fine journalists, and more than that, really fine people," Marks said.
Several anchors were sharing stories about Parker and Ward. Everyone at the station was grieving, they said, adding that they could hear crying across the newsroom.
This afternoon, McAuliffe released a statement expressing his grief about the losses.
"Dorothy and I and our entire administration remain heartbroken over this morning's senseless tragedy," he said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families, the WDBJ staff and the entire community that is mourning this awful loss."
The statement went on, saying that "it is appropriate to begin to ask questions about how we can prevent these senseless events in the future. Keeping guns out of the hands of people who would use them to harm our family, friends and loved ones is not a political issue; it is a matter of ensuring that more people can come home safely at the end of the day. We cannot rest until we have done whatever it takes to rid our society of preventable gun violence that results in tragedies like the one we are enduring today."
Parker was the station's morning reporter and grew up outside of Martinsville, according to her station biography. She graduated James Madison University in 2012 and had worked at a station in Jacksonville, N.C.
Ward was engaged to the station's morning producer. This morning, she produced her last show and the staff had plans to celebrate with a cake and balloons. Ward was a graduate of Salem High School and Virginia Tech.
Parker was in a relationship with reporter Chris Hurst and the two recently moved in together, according to the live broadcast and his Twitter account.
"Our hearts are broken," Marks said.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine sent his sympathies to the families of Parker and Ward and the station in a statement this morning: "I ask everyone to join me in praying for Vicki Gardner who was seriously injured in this attack and all of the local authorities and first responders who are working to find the perpetrator of this horrific crime."
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner in a statement thanked local, state and federal law enforcement officers who are investigating the killings for their work today.
"This crime was senseless, and our thoughts are with the loved ones and friends of Alison, Adam, and the whole WDBJ staff," Warner wrote. "We're also praying for the recovery of Vicki Gardner."
Copyright 2015 - The Virginian-Pilot
Tribune News Service
