Police Say Former Anchor Who Allegedly Shot And Killed Journalists Has Died
MONETA, VA: Police say shooting suspect Vester L. Flanagan has been pronounced dead. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
See Photos Of The Victims Here
Flanagan is accused of shooting and killing a reporter and photographer during a live newscast.
Watch the Virginia State Police Press Conference Here
Watch WDBJ7 Live On Air Here
Flanagan was an anchor who went by the name Bryce Williams at WDBJ prior to the shooting.

Several tweets from his Twitter account suggest that he had issues with racism in the workplace. His Twitter and Facebook accounts have now been suspended after he posted a video of himself shooting the journalists.

ABC News says they received a 23-page fax from someone claiming to be Bryce Williams between Wednesday morning at 8:26am. ABC says they turned the fax over to authorities. The shooting, which was captured on live television, was reported at 6:35am Wednesday.
ABC released a report saying the writer of the document says, "MY NAME IS BRYCE WILLIAMS." The writer goes on to say: "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. And my hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them."
See more of what the document says HERE.
Two WDBJ employees, reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward– were shot to death while reporting on a feature story Wednesday morning, the CNN affiliate in Virginia reported.
Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward, 24 and 27 yrs old, from WDBJ in #Roanoke. Murdered during a live shot. pic.twitter.com/p1Js2IN72i
— jaye11alive (@jayewatson) August 26, 2015
Police say the woman who was being interviewed, Vicki Gardner, was shot in the back and is currently in stable condition following emergency surgery. Gardner is the executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.
A still photo of the suspected gunman was pulled from the video.
SUSPECT IN #Roanoke SHOOTING! Pls take a look, let’s assist authorities. Reporter and photographer just killed pic.twitter.com/8YZRjIE2N3
— Kimberly Klacik (@KimKlacik) August 26, 2015
The shooting happened during a live interview at Bridgewater Plaza near Moneta. Police say they spotted the vehicle Flanagan was driving on I-66 in Virginia around 11:30am. A State Trooper initiated a traffic stop but officials say the driver refused to stop and sped away before running off the road and crashing. That’s when the Trooper determined Flanagan shot himself. He was airlifted to a local hospital but died around 1:30pm.
Click HERE to learn more about workplace violence.
Video captured by the Ward during the live newscast showed the WDBJ reporter scream as gunshots were fired. The camera falls to the ground and more gunshots are heard. After the shooting, Flanagan posted a video from his point of view as he shot and killed the two journalists. The video has been pulled from the Internet.
Alison Parker’s boyfriend Chris Hurst posted the following on his Twitter account:
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
I am comforted by everyone at @WDBJ7. We are a family. She worked with Adam every day. They were a team. I am heartbroken for his fiancee.
— Chris Hurst (@chrishurstwdbj) August 26, 2015
WDBJ7 Shooting: Virginia State Police Press Conference
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