US TV reporter and cameraman fatally shot during live report in Virginia

[F430murci]

Photos Of Alleged Virginia Shooter: Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams

Credit, story

ve.jpg

Racist disgusting POS. Obviously, Obama won't denounce this as a hate crime because it it black on white even though this racist POS clearly made it about race with his social media bs.

[Linky]

Photos Of Alleged Virginia Shooter: Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams

Credit, story

ve.jpg

Racist disgusting POS. Obviously, Obama won't denounce this as a hate crime because it it black on white even though this racist POS clearly made it about race with his social media bs.

Umm how about we actually hear from Obama before you show your racist colours.

[F430murci]

Photos Of Alleged Virginia Shooter: Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams

Credit, story

ve.jpg

Racist disgusting POS. Obviously, Obama won't denounce this as a hate crime because it it black on white even though this racist POS clearly made it about race with his social media bs.

Umm how about we actually hear from Obama before you show your racist colours.

The past is the best predictor of the future. I won't hold my breathe waiting for anything from Obama that is remotely even handed.

[F430murci]

Photos Of Alleged Virginia Shooter: Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams

Credit, story

ve.jpg

Yep, the face of a loser disgusting POS that walked around life with a chip on his shoulders and resented those that were good, happy, hard working people.

[Tywais]

Off topic argumentative posts removed.

[PHP87]

A Police Officer was shot and killed last week in SoCal.

Nothing from the WH/Obama.

Then today....

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/white-house-says-virginia-tv-shooting-points-to-need-for-gun-control/ar-BBm7xwO

Shameless opportunist.

Hillary also jumped in well before the bodies were even cold.

Geez, can you at least wait until they are buried?

[balo]

I dont know what is worst when it comes to the US, the school massacres or this live killing on national TV. All of the tragedies and loss of lifes could have been prevented if US changed their gun laws.

In Europe you can not just show up in a gun store and present your ID and just get a gun , its not that simple. You need to apply to get a special permission and also go through a background check. Sad to see that the US never learns .

[PHP87]

I dont know what is worst when it comes to the US, the school massacres or this live killing on national TV. All of the tragedies and loss of lifes could have been prevented if US changed their gun laws.

In Europe you can not just show up in a gun store and present your ID and just get a gun , its not that simple. You need to apply to get a special permission and also go through a background check. Sad to see that the US never learns .

Same in the US.

Background check, 10-day waiting period in many states, etc...

It's not simple at all.

Virginia requires two forms of ID and a background check.

http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-a-Firearm-in-Virginia

Stop listening to idiots in the media and listen to actual gun owners.

Same with the so-called "Gun Show Loophole"

It's BS in my State and just about every other one.

I would wager that this guy bought his gun legally.

What law would you propose that would have prevented this shooting, other than 20/20 hindsight?

Edited August 26, 2015 by PHP87

[webfact]

Fired reporter kills 2 former co-workers on live TV
By STEVE HELBER, PAM RAMSEY and JONATHAN DREW

MONETA, Va. (AP) — He planned it all so carefully — a choreographed execution of two former colleagues, broadcast live to a horrified television audience, and also recorded by him and then shared worldwide across social media.

Vester Lee Flanagan's own video shows him approaching WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward, gun in hand, as they conduct an interview. He points the gun at Parker and then at Ward, but he waits patiently to shoot until he knows that Parker is on camera, so she will be gunned down on air.

TV viewers heard about the first eight of 15 shots. They saw Parker scream and run, and heard her crying "Oh my God!" as she fell. Ward fell, too, and the camera he had been holding on his shoulder captured a fleeting image of the suspect holding a handgun.

That man, authorities said, was Flanagan — a former staffer who used the on-air name of Bryce Williams and was fired by WDBJ last year, a man who always was looking for reasons to take offense, colleagues recalled. He fled the scene but then posted his own 56-second video of the murders on Twitter and Facebook. He later ran off a highway while being pursued hundreds of miles away and was captured; he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Wednesday's on-air murders reverberated far from central Virginia because that's just what the killer wanted — not just to avenge perceived wrongs, but to gain maximum, viral exposure. He used his insider's knowledge of TV journalism against his victims - a 24-year-old reporter who was a rising star and a 27-year-old cameraman engaged to a producer who watched the slaughter live from the control room.

Flanagan's planning may have started weeks ago when, ABC News said, a man claiming to be Bryce Williams called repeatedly, saying he wanted to pitch a story and needed fax information. He sent ABC's newsroom a 23-page fax two hours after the 6:45 a.m. shooting that was part-manifesto, part-suicide note — calling himself a gay black man who had been mistreated by people of all races, and saying he bought the gun two days after nine black people were killed in a June 17 shooting at a Charleston church. The fax also included admiration for the gunmen in mass killings at places like Virginia Tech and Columbine High School in Colorado.

He described himself as a "human powder keg," that was "just waiting to go BOOM!!!!"

Parker and Ward were a regular team, providing stories for the station's "Mornin'" show on everything from breaking news to feature stories on subjects like child abuse. Their live spot Wednesday was nothing out of the ordinary: They were interviewing a local official at an outdoor shopping mall for a tourism story before the shots rang out.

As Parker screamed and Ward collapsed, Ward's camera kept rolling, capturing the image of the suspect pointing the gun. WDBJ quickly switched to the anchor back at the station, clearly shocked, who told viewers, "OK, not sure what happened there."

Parker and Ward died at the scene. Their interview subject, Vicki Gardner, also was shot, but emerged from surgery later Wednesday in stable condition.

Flanagan, 41, who was fired from WDBJ in 2013, was described by the station's president and general manager, Jeffrey Marks, as an "an unhappy man" and "difficult to work with," always "looking out for people to say things he could take offense to."

"Eventually after many incidents of his anger coming to the fore, we dismissed him. He did not take that well," Marks said. He recalled that police had to escort Flanagan out of the building because he refused to leave when he was fired.

Tweets posted Wednesday on the gunman's Twitter account — since suspended — described workplace conflicts with both victims. He said he filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Parker, and that Ward had reported him to human resources.

Marks said Flanagan alleged that other employees made racially tinged comments to him, but that his EEOC claim was dismissed and none of his allegations could be corroborated.

"We think they were fabricated," the station manager said.

Dan Dennison, now a state government spokesman in Hawaii, was the WDBJ news director who hired Flanagan in 2012 and fired him in 2013, largely for performance issues, he said.

"We did a thorough investigation and could find no evidence that anyone had racially discriminated against this man," Dennison said. "You just never know when you're going to work how a potentially unhinged or unsettled person might impact your life in such a tragic way."

Court records and recollections from former colleagues at a half-dozen other small-market stations where he bounced around indicate that Flanagan was quick to file complaints. He was fired at least twice after managers said he was causing problems with other employees.

Both Parker and Ward grew up in the Roanoke area, attended high school there and later interned at the station. After Parker's internship, she moved to a smaller market in Jacksonville, North Carolina, before returning to WBDJ. She was dating Chris Hurst, an anchor at the station and had just moved in with him.

"We were together almost nine months," Hurst posted on Facebook. "It was the best nine months of our lives. We wanted to get married. We just celebrated her 24th birthday. She was the most radiant woman I ever met."

Ward, who played high school football, was a devoted fan of his alma mater, Virginia Tech. His colleagues said he rarely, if ever, missed a game. They called him a "happy-go-lucky guy" — even during the early morning hours that are the proving ground for so many beginning journalists.

Ward's fiancee, station producer Melissa Ott, was in the control room when the shots rang out, marking her last day on the job. He had planned to follow her to her new job in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Marks helped lead the live coverage Wednesday after the station confirmed its two employees were dead. He said he and his staff covered the story despite their grief, to honor their slain colleagues.

"Our hearts are broken," he said. "Our sympathy goes to the entire staff here, but also the parents and family of Alison Parker and Adam Ward, who were just out doing their job today."
___

Ramsey reported from Charleston, West Virginia. Drew reported from Hardy, Virginia.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-08-27

[webfact]

Virginia TV journalists' murderer kills himself

(BBC) A man who shot two journalists on live TV in the US state of Virginia has died after shooting himself, police say.

Vester Lee Flanagan, 41, an ex-employee of WDBJ7 TV known professionally as Bryce Williams, was in a car that was surrounded by police following a chase.

WDBJ7 TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed some seven hours earlier during an interview in the town of Moneta.

The gunman later uploaded a video of himself opening fire at close range.

The White House has urged Congress to rapidly pass gun control laws in the wake of this latest shooting in the US.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34068541


-- BBC 2015-08-27

[stevenl]

Photos Of Alleged Virginia Shooter: Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams

Credit, story

ve.jpg

Racist disgusting POS. Obviously, Obama won't denounce this as a hate crime because it it black on white even though this racist POS clearly made it about race with his social media bs.

Umm how about we actually hear from Obama before you show your racist colours.

And maybe also wait and see if this really was a hate crime.

[samran]

The U.S. constitution is sacrosanct for amendments 1 and 2. By the time you get to 14, not so much....

[Thakkar]

I dont know what is worst when it comes to the US, the school massacres or this live killing on national TV. All of the tragedies and loss of lifes could have been prevented if US changed their gun laws.

In Europe you can not just show up in a gun store and present your ID and just get a gun , its not that simple. You need to apply to get a special permission and also go through a background check. Sad to see that the US never learns .

Same in the US.

Background check, 10-day waiting period in many states, etc...

It's not simple at all.

Virginia requires two forms of ID and a background check.

http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-a-Firearm-in-Virginia

Stop listening to idiots in the media and listen to actual gun owners.

Same with the so-called "Gun Show Loophole"

It's BS in my State and just about every other one.

I would wager that this guy bought his gun legally.

What law would you propose that would have prevented this shooting, other than 20/20 hindsight?

Outside of some pretty corrupt/lawless countries, and especially when it comes to developed countries, America, despite the laws you cite, is the easiest place to buy a gun legally.

But it gets worse...

Gun shows provide a loophole that you can drive a train through:

www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/welcome/features/20090923_gun_study/index.html

Gun shows and the lack of uniform gun-control laws provide easy access to guns that can be used for criminal purposes, according to a new report from the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program.

Entitled "Inside Gun Shows: What Goes on When Everybody Thinks Nobodys Watching," the comprehensive, 300-page report provides a you are there exposure to the issue based on direct observations made at 78 gun shows in 19 states, most of them between 2005 and 2008.

The report features hundreds of photographs and some video that show:

illegal straw purchases, whereby a surrogate buys from a licensed retailer on behalf of another

anonymous, undocumented private-party gun sales

widespread availability of assault weapons, .50-caliber rifles and the parts needed to make untraceable guns

links between gun shows and the neo-Confederacy movement and neo-Nazism

The term "legally" doesn't mean much and is not very reassuring when the purveyors of deadly weapons, the NRA, have a big hand in writing the laws.

T

[NeverSure]

I just saw on TV that the perp's car was ID'd by a license plate reader. Cool tool.

When the trooper in a car got the call to watch for the perp the license plate was given. When the trooper entered that number into the car's equipment it told the trooper that the perp's car had been passed just minutes before. A chase ensued, the perp crashed and was found dead of his own gunshot wound in his car.

Is there no end to tech...?

[Usernames]

These revenge murders were racially motivated. This is what happens when "black lives matter," and nobody else's does. Had this been a white man killing two black reporters and had he directly alluded to race, there would already be new calls to tear down more statues, ban more flags, and issue more reparations.

[Thakkar]

Photos Of Alleged Virginia Shooter: Vester Flanagan AKA Bryce Williams

Credit, story

ve.jpg

Racist disgusting POS. Obviously, Obama won't denounce this as a hate crime because it it black on white even though this racist POS clearly made it about race with his social media bs.

A person of one race killing a person of another race does not automatically make it a racist killing, except in the eyes of a racist.

T

[stevenl]

These revenge murders were racially motivated. This is what happens when "black lives matter," and nobody else's does. Had this been a white man killing two black reporters and had he directly alluded to race, there would already be new calls to tear down more statues, ban more flags, and issue more reparations.

See thakkar's comment in the post following yours.

He is absolutely right.

[zaphod reborn]

Absolutely horrible.

However, we may now be able to replace "going postal" with "going newsroom".

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

[zaphod reborn]

The U.S. constitution is sacrosanct for amendments 1 and 2. By the time you get to 14, not so much....

How convenient.

Please drape yourself in a confederate flag if you want to turn the clock back.

By the way 4 and 5 are more important than 1 and 2, because they are intended to put limits on a fascist American government. Religion needs no protection in the U.S. It is a scourge that has perverted the common sense of a good portion of the electorate.

[squarethecircle]

The perpetrator displayed a long string of antisocial behaviors and was fired for this. He pulled the race card and filed a lawsuit stating that he was terminated on a racial basis. And he states the turning point was the church shooting in SC on June 17; on June 19 he bought the gun.

[Linky]

The U.S. constitution is sacrosanct for amendments 1 and 2. By the time you get to 14, not so much....

How convenient.

Please drape yourself in a confederate flag if you want to turn the clock back.

By the way 4 and 5 are more important than 1 and 2, because they are intended to put limits on a fascist American government. Religion needs no protection in the U.S. It is a scourge that has perverted the common sense of a good portion of the electorate.

Great, I didnt know citizens could pick and chose which parts of the constitution are more important than others.

But your honour, that part of the constitution doesnt really matter. ?

[Thakkar]

The U.S. constitution is sacrosanct for amendments 1 and 2. By the time you get to 14, not so much....

But only if the First Amendment means "I have the right to be a religious bigot" and if The Second Amendment means "I can buy all the deadly assault weapons I want with no restrictions even if I don't belong to a registered militia"

T

[HLover]

sad story, how socially dismal it must be there.

[NeverSure]

The U.S. constitution is sacrosanct for amendments 1 and 2. By the time you get to 14, not so much....

But only if the First Amendment means "I have the right to be a religious bigot" and if The Second Amendment means "I can buy all the deadly assault weapons I want with no restrictions even if I don't belong to a registered militia"

T

Your ignorance of the Constitution, gun laws and the availability of assault weapons is astounding.

Also, apparently you didn't notice that this perp used a handgun.

Cheers.

[Thakkar]

The U.S. constitution is sacrosanct for amendments 1 and 2. By the time you get to 14, not so much....

But only if the First Amendment means "I have the right to be a religious bigot" and if The Second Amendment means "I can buy all the deadly assault weapons I want with no restrictions even if I don't belong to a registered militia"

T

Your ignorance of the Constitution, gun laws and the availability of assault weapons is astounding.

Also, apparently you didn't notice that this perp used a handgun.

Cheers.

You are being astounded by something inside your own head and not by the exchange between Samran and myself.

T

[Steely Dan]

Apparently, the shooting was racially motivated, but CNN and the mainstream media seem to be covering that up. Surprise, huh? http://heavy.com/news/2015/08/lester-lee-flanagan-flanighan-flanigan-wdbj-tv-disgruntled-employee-virginia-shooting-suspect-cameraman-photos-video-chase-gun-gunman-arrested/

Indeed when gay black man with a chip on his shoulder murders two people in cold blood the usual progressive hashtags don't work. But hey presto watch them turn it into a gun control issue.

[samran]

The U.S. constitution is sacrosanct for amendments 1 and 2. By the time you get to 14, not so much....

But only if the First Amendment means "I have the right to be a religious bigot" and if The Second Amendment means "I can buy all the deadly assault weapons I want with no restrictions even if I don't belong to a registered militia"

T

Your ignorance of the Constitution, gun laws and the availability of assault weapons is astounding.

Also, apparently you didn't notice that this perp used a handgun.

Cheers.

phew, only a handgun!

[55Jay]

sad story, how socially dismal it must be there.

Indeed.

Are you just opining about this particular town in Virginia, or the entire US of A?

[little mary sunshine]

One more bad tempered, Evil Basta...Able to get a gun!!

[Thakkar]

The U.S. constitution is sacrosanct for amendments 1 and 2. By the time you get to 14, not so much....

But only if the First Amendment means "I have the right to be a religious bigot" and if The Second Amendment means "I can buy all the deadly assault weapons I want with no restrictions even if I don't belong to a registered militia"

T

Your ignorance of the Constitution, gun laws and the availability of assault weapons is astounding.

Also, apparently you didn't notice that this perp used a handgun.

Cheers.

phew, only a handgun!

'Cause an assault rifle woulda killed 'em even deader?

T