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The
Twitter and Facebook accounts of Bryce Williams have been suspended
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The disgruntled former
news reporter who shot dead two of his ex-coworkers during a live TV segment
this morning has died after committing suicide. Viewers of WDBJ, a small
CBS affiliate in Moneta, Virginia, watched in horror this morning as Vester Lee
Flanagan II shot dead 24-year-old reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward,
27, on live TV as the two were filming a light-hearted segment at 6:45am.
After
carrying out the shocking on-air execution, Ward rented a car at the airport
and then started driving east.
Daily Mail UK reports:
Police
finally cornered Flanagan just before noon, about three hours northeast, in
Fauquier County, Virginia, but he refused to stop and sped away from troopers.
Flanagan
then crashed the car off the road and when police surrounded the vehicle, they
found him suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He later passed away
at a hospital in Northern Virginia.
Before
he was caught by police, Flanagan took to Twitter to explain his reasons for
killing his former coworkers.
Flanagan,
who is African American, wrote that Parker made 'racist comments' and that a
complaint was filed against her through the equal employment opportunity
commission, but his station chose to hire her anyway.
As
for Ward, Flanagan says that after working with the cameraman once, Ward
complained to HR about the former general assignment reporter. It's unclear
what exactly happened between the two men.
But
the most shocking post of all was a video Flanagan took of the attack, which he
shared on his Twitter.The chilling clip is taken from Flanagan's point of view
and shows him approaching the two journalists as they were interviewing Vicki
Gardner, the local chamber of commerce.
He
opens fire first on Ward and then turns to kill Parker. Parker and Ward
died at the scene while Gardner was rushed to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for
emergency surgery and is now in stable condition.
After
posting the graphic video of the attack, Flanagan's Twitter account was
suspended.
Flanagan
also allegedly contact ABC News after the attack, sending the news network a 23
page document elaborating on his motivations, saying he wanted revenge for the
Charleston church shooting and was inspired by infamous mass shooters like Eric
Harris and Dylan Klebold.
ABC
says a man by the name of Bryce Williams first contacted them a few weeks ago,
wanting to pitch a story but he wouldn't say what it was about.
This
morning, that same man contacted them again, sending them a fax two hours after
the shooting.
In
the fax,described as a suicide note to friends and family, Flanagan says he
became angered after the Charleston church shooting and that Jehovah made him
act.
'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.'
'As
for Dylann Roof? You [redacted]! You want a race war [redacted]? BRING IT THEN
YOU WHITE …[redacted]!!!”
At
the same time, he professes a deep respect for other mass shooters like
Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho.
'Also,
I was influenced by Seung–Hui Cho [the Virginia Tech shooter]. That’s my boy
right there. He got NEARLY double the amount that Eric Harris and Dylann
Klebold got…just sayin’.
He
goes on to say that he has faced both racial and sexual discrimination as a
black, gay man and that he was just waiting to explode.
'Yes,
it will sound like I am angry...I am. And I have every right to be. But when I
leave this Earth, the only emotion I want to feel is peace...'
'The church shooting was
the tipping point…but my anger has been building steadily...I’ve been a human
powder keg for a while…just waiting to go BOOM!!!!'
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