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Thursday, August 27, 2015

Murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward on live Virginia TV

Murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward on live Virginia TV ---

3 killed murder suicide suspect suicide August 26, 2015 Murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward In a workplace shooting incident, an American television reporter and her cameraman, Alison Parker and Adam Ward, are shot dead during a remote live broadcast in Moneta, Virginia, and the woman they were interviewing, Vicki Gardner, is wounded. The alleged shooter, Vester Lee Flanagan II was a newscaster fired in 2013, later uploaded a video of the murder. He fled in a rented Ford Mustang as after a manhunt was found dead of gun suicide in a rented Chevy Sonic. He called ABC News and later faxed a rambling 23 page manifesto that he was angry that he was mistreated and bullied because he was gay and black. He said that he was set off by the attack on the black church in Charleston SC, and expressed admiration for the Columbine high school terrorist-style murderers and Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho who killed even more people.

Tags A-Z: How many red flags? If he identifies with 9-11 and domestic terrorists and terrorist-like attacks, was terrorism his motive? Was there somebody behind him?
  • 9/11 jihad hijackers , identified "with individuals who have committed domestic acts of violence and mass murder, as well as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S.," investigators said. TV Crew Murder Suspect 'Closely Identified' With 9/11 Terrorists WRC‑TV 2001, Murder Suspect 'Closely Identified' With 9/11 Terrorists .. Va. State Police: Evidence seized from #WDBJ shooter Vester Flanagan’s home shows he closely identified w/ 9/11 terrorists.
  • Alias - used stage name to avoid reference check
  • Ammo magazines in car
  • Black nationalist
  • Black rage
  • Black Professional Suspect 
  • Bullet proof vest
  • Bullied - He said he had been targeted his whole life by white females and black males. 
  • Charleston church shooting manifesto cites  the reason “why” he did “it.” “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,” the document reportedly says. “What sent me over the top was the church shooting.
  • Christian - gave TV station cross 
  • Columbine High School killers. “Also, I was influenced by Seung–Hui Cho. That’s my boy right there. He got NEARLY double the amount that Eric Harris and Dylann Klebold got
  • Crashed car like Santa Monica spree
  • Dinesh D Souza
  • Disguise -  wig, a black hat, a shawl, sunglasses and a to-do list. John Houser Lafayette Theater Shooting and Seattle Hollywood bank bandit had similar disguise and wigs.
  • Disgruntled employee client rage ---
  • EEOC Discrimination complaint 2013 failed.
  • Employee [mental counseling] assistance program mandatory at WDBJ
  • Ford Mustang rental getaway car
  • Gay discrimination complaints
  • Gay rage
  • Glock Pistol Vester Lee Flanagan fired 17 rounds from a Glock pistol
  • *Hoax conspiracy theories by anti-semitic pro-Iran pro-Palestine disinfo sites 
  • Hollow Point bullets hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them.”
  • Journalists killed in the United States
  • License Plates  Police also found three license plates.
  • Male prostitute  he was a gay male escort proud to make thousands of dollars
  • Mass murder attacks and shootings ---
  • 2015 mass shootings in the United States
  • Manifesto - like Cho, Dorner
  • Murder–suicides in the United States
  • Planning - Flanagan arranged to rent the car weeks before the shooting.
  • Porn sites registered under his name
  • Porn: apartment was awash with gay porn and sex toys.
  • Racist in everything
  • Racially motivated violence in the United States
  • Racist taunts: Parker made reference to “swinging” by a destination and also referred to heading out into the “field,” according to Flanagan’s 2013 complaint with the station, the New York Post reported ‘The reporter’s out in the field.’ And he would look at us and say, ‘What are you saying, ‘cotton fields’? That’s racist,’” he told the Post. station manager brought in watermelon for all employees. This is out for me. You guys are calling me out because I’m black.’”  7-Eleven watermelon-flavored Slurpees are racist too.
  • Reference check - avoided it by using stage name
  • Rental car - like Chattanooga
  • Road Rage: Road rage:     recorded on 6 July, 2015 Roanoke, VA.  I called this man out at a red light for driving like a maniac.  He then followed me to my destination driving recklessly, and stopping traffic to continue the argument, the rest is on film.
  • Search found: Glock pistol, iPhone, 6 glock magazines 9mm ammo, pistol case, 17 stamped letters, briefcase with 3 license plates, wit,shawl, umbrella, gunglasses, black hat, bag with supplies
  • Social media promotion youtube and twitter
  • Terrorism-Like Incidents ---
  • To do list
  • Virginia Tech  Seung Hui Cho, calls him “his boy,” and expresses admiration for the Columbine High School killers. “Also, I was influenced by Seung–Hui Cho. That’s my boy right there. He got NEARLY double the amount that Eric Harris and Dylann Klebold got…just sayin.'" Glock 19 was influenced by one that Cho used in his mass attack.
  • Wig
  • workplace violence
  • Suicides by firearm in Virginia
Embedded image permalink

*Reference


*Timeline
  •  In 2000, he was fired from WTWC in Tallahassee, Florida.  for "poor performance," "misbehavior with regards to co-workers" and his "use of profanity on the premises." Flanagan alleged a producer called him a "monkey," and because he complained, the station retaliated.  "He was very angry and troubled by a lot of things that had happened to him at work," said Marie Mattox, the attorney who represented him in a suit he filed against the station. " got settlement. 9 months behavior issues.
  • joined WDBJ in Virginia in 2012. There, his records listed run-ins with co-workers and said he was a poor performer, leading his bosses to refer him to the company's employee assistance program." We made it mandatory that he seek help from our employee assistance program. 
  • December 2012 final warning
  • Feb 2013 fired
  • Police walked him out of the building, Flanagan handed his manager a small wooden cross and said, "You'll need this."
  • July 6 2015 road rage encounter "I called this man out at a red light for driving like a maniac," Foster said. "He then followed me to my destination, driving recklessly, and stopping traffic to continue the argument." 

*Dinesh

Do We Need Gun Control Or Thug Control?

Weekly Update from Dinesh D'Souza

Dear Friends,
In the wake of the tragic Virginia shooting, more information is surfacing about the shooter. Bryce Williams sent a 23-page suicide note to ABC after killing Alison Parker and Adam Ward in which he said he would "bring on the race war" in response to the shooting in Charleston. His hatred of whites was marinated in years of progressive propaganda that told him how he was a victim of societal racism. Racism can provoke wanton violence, but so can an aggrieved sense of minority victimization.
We now know that Williams was astaunch progressive and Obama supporter, and most likely subscribed to their narrative of black oppression—he was reprimanded at the news station for wearing an Obama pin on the job on Election Day, a clear violation of journalistic ethics. Let's hope that Obama expresses sympathy for the white victims and not for the shooter!
Obama and the media seem to be resolutely colorblind when black people do horrific things but acutely race conscious when white people do them. For example, we haven't seen any headlines like this one:
If it had been the other around, we'd be hearing all about the "white racist and homophobic killer."
And speaking of double standards, will the same leftists who sought to ban the Confederate flag after the Charleston shooting now take down those rainbow flags we see all over the place? All the left wants to talk about now is gun control. In reality, what we need is THUG control. I have an idea: why don't we just have all angry demented progressives turn in their guns?
In perhaps related news, most Americans now disapprove of Obama and say the U.S. is doing badly (according to a new CNN poll)—but our narcissist-in-chief retains his high opinion of himself! Try as I might, I just cannot imitate Obama's self-important look—it comes so naturally to him:
Do you think there is a double standard in the way Obama and the media discussed this shooting versus the Charleston shooting? Comment on my Facebook Page and let me 


After the ‪#‎VirginiaShooting‬, is it now time to take down those rainbow flags we see all over the place? ‪#‎DoubleStandards‬ ‪#‎Hypocrites‬
The Virginia shooter's hatred was marinated in progressive propaganda about how he was a victim of societal racism. They want ‪#‎guncontrol‬? Let's have all angry demented progressives turn in their guns!
Like   Comment   
‪#‎VirginiaShooting‬: an angry black gay guy who says "bring on the race war." Is anyone surprised to find him wearing an Obama pin?
Like   Comment   
Let's hope that Obama expresses sympathy for the white victims of the‪#‎VirginiaShooting‬ and not for the gay black shooter.
*Hoax / False Flag conspiracy theories

Could the hoax theorists actually be working for whatever enemy of America was really behind the shooter and his obvious terrorist intent?  For every terrorist attack, there is an equal and opposite conspiracy theory to deflect blame away from who really did it to the US government and Israel.  Most of these outlets are pro-Iran pro-Russia pro-Palestine anti-Israel anti-US anti-government 9-11 truthers and into numerology.

Virginia Shooting Hoax: Crisis Actors "Mission in Life" is Gun Control
Activist Post‎ - 1 day agoVirginia shooting of local TV anchor appears to be a hoaxwith crisis actors pushing for more ...

Virginia Journalist False Flag Hoax Shooting Hits An All Time Low; SERIOUS FAKERY!!! | Sheep Media
A Sheep No More‎ - 2 days agoMore news for virginia shooting hoax

Absolute Proof Virginia TV Anchor Shooting is a Gun ... [Muslim run website that harassed Sandy Hook parents and says every high profile mass murder is a zionist Islamophobic hoax]
nodisinfo.com/absolute-proof-virginia-tv-anchor-shooting-is-a-gun-cont...
Here are the hoax associates, including a homosexual fake shooter. No one can ... The Fake Dead of the Virginia TV Crew Shooting Hoax.

'Just like Sandy Hook!': YouTube loons explain the Virginia ...
www.rawstory.com/.../just-like-sandy-hook-youtube-loon...
The Raw Story1 day ago - According to the Internet, the shooting of WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward on Wednesday was a hoax perpetrated ...

WDBJ Virginia Shooting: Freemason-Illuminati Media HOAX ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_gYyVXMF88
2 days ago - CBS All Seeing Eye Lucifer's Supercollider Broadcasting Network's partnership with The Department of Homeland Security hoax-scheme on ...

Virginia Journalist False Flag Hoax Shooting Hits An All ...
authenticenlightenment.com/.../virginia-journalist-false-flag-hoax-shooti...
2 days ago - Words can't describe how bad of a hoax the Virginia Shooting was. A guy walks up within feet of the woman he supposedly kills and stands ...

Virginia Shooting Hoax | Metabunk
www.metabunk.org › Forums › Metabunk › Conspiracy Theories
2 days ago - I knew instantly that this was going to be claimed as a "hoax", mainly due to how the woman reacted after being shot at (we aren't sure which ...

Virginia Shooting Hoax: Crisis Actors Gun Control "Mission ...
beforeitsnews.com/.../virginia-shooting-hoax-crisis-actors-gun-control-m...
1 day ago - You will soon discover that the Virginia shooting was just another hoax. YouTube reporter Redsilverj exposes the same ole' crap with crisis ...

Virginia Shooting: Videos From Shooter's Point Of View, Bryce
beforeitsnews.com/.../virginia-shooting-videos-from-shooters-point-of-vi...
3 days ago - Virginia Shooting: Videos From Shooter's Point Of View, Bryce ....Another manufactured staged shooting hoax, this time involving a filthy rotten ...

Virginia journalist shooting False Flag Hoax.
gmmuk.com/virginia-journalist-shooting-false-flag-hoax/
2 days ago - Virginia journalist shooting False Flag Hoax. This is simply mind-blowing. I heard about the shooting this morning but then I saw this video.


*Sources

Questions about broadcasters' name changes avoid reference check arise after Roanoke shooting USA TODAY  August 28, 2015  station that hired Flanagan and his shooting victims – Alison Parker and Adam Ward – now concedes it failed to check Flanagan's credentials using his birth name. WDBJ General Manager Jeff Marks said the station knew the true identity of Flanagan. But the alias allowed Flanagan to avoid a professional reference check on his real name, Marks said. Flanagan "passed himself off as Bryce Williams, not as Vester Flanagan," Marks said. "We didn't know what he'd done elsewhere" under his real name. When checking references, "we looked up Bryce Williams but it didn't strike us to look up his real name," Marks said. The company did conduct a criminal background check using his real name, and that came back with no issues, he said.

August 28, 2015  Why The MSM Establishment Is Beating Up BREITBART Over Vester Flanagan Black gunman kills White TV reporters  Alexander Hart  August 28, 2015 After Dylann Roof shot up Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, South Carolina, most Main Stream Media outlets ran similar headlines. White Gunman Caught in Killing of 9 in Historic Black Church New York Times Charleston, S.C., shooting: White gunman sought (see August 26, 2015 Murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward )

aug 31 Days After WDBJ On-Air Shooter Killed Reporter, Photographer and Himself, One His Closest Friends Received a Package Aug. 31, 2015  TheBlaze  Days after his close friend, Vester Lee Flanagan, killed a reporter and photographer on live TV, Robert Avent reportedly received a package in the mail. It was from Flanagan. rambling letters reportedly reviewed by the Daily News, Flanagan wrote about not being able to “score” after he previously got paid as much as $2,000 in one night to sleep with a man while he was working as a male escort.  The killer also hinted at suicide in one letter: “OK, so I guess my first suicide note is finished…Oh wait a sec…we only get one per lifetime…oooops.”  “check stub receipts” that were apparently from Flanagan’s past time as a male prostitute, according to the report. In another revelation, Flanagan also reportedly texted and spoke to Avent on the phone as police were searching for him. After admitting he did something “very bad,” Flanagan texted, “I’m sorry, I had no other choice,” according to Avent.

The crazed gunman who executed on live morning TV two local news journalists who worked at his former station lived surrounded by publicity photos of himself, in an apartment awash with gay porn and sex toys. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/27/inside-vester-lee-flanagan-life/
WDBJ slayings: Disguises in gunman's car may have been for getaway  By Ed Payne and Ray Sanchez, CNN August 28, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

Road rage:     recorded on 6 July, 2015 Roanoke, VA.  I called this man out at a red light for driving like a maniac.  He then followed me to my destination driving recklessly, and stopping traffic to continue the argument, the rest is on film. Virginia gunman road rage incident caught on tape
Police find disguises in WDBJ shooter's car
Shooter had porn sites registered under his name
New details on gunman's troubled past at TV station
Slain reporter's father calls for gun control
Friend of murdered photojournalist speaks
Details of gunman's firing from WDBJ emerge
TV news reporter and cameraman were shot in the head, medical examiner's office says
Police found wig, black hat, shawl, sunglasses and to-do list in Vester Lee Flanagan's car
Flanagan sent a text message to a friend that helped tip off authorities

(CNN)He carefully choreographed the slaying of the two journalists for maximum shock value. And, judging from the items found in his car, he took equally meticulous steps to get away with it.

Later, clues were found inside the rental car Flanagan used for his getaway, a Chevrolet Sonic.

Suspect in 2 murders on live TV dead after shooting himself Fox News The "disgruntled employee" believed to have shot and killed two media members and wounded a third person on live television Wednesday morning has shot and killed himself after being confronted by police along a Virginia highway. Virginia State Police ... After Shooting, Alleged Gunman Details Grievances in 'Suicide Notes'ABC News Gunman Who Killed Virginia News Crew Dies After Shooting HimselfNewsweek Highly Cited:Suspected gunman shoots self after journalists killed on air, official saysCNN Virginia shooting: police say suspected gunman is dead - live updatesThe Guardian Live-TV Shooting Suspect Pronounced Dead at Hospital [Updated] New York Magazine - ‎14 minutes ago‎  Twenty-four-year-old WDBJ7 reporter Alison Parker and 27-year-old cameraman Adam Ward were killed during a live-TV broadcast at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia on Wednesday morning. Terry McAuliffe calls for stricter gun laws after Virginia shooting  Politico  McAuliffe's comments follow the shooting of 24-year-old WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and 27-year-old cameraman Adam Ward, who were killed during a live on-air interview in Smith Mountain, Virginia. Footage of the tragedy, which quickly spread throughout ...PD: Suspect accused of fatally shooting 2 journalists during newscast dies KPRC Houston WDBJ sent out several tweets about the shooting. The station's first tweet reads: "We are trying to figure out what just happened -- thank you all for your concern and kind words. TV crew killed near Roanoke, suspect kills self 13newsnow.com MONETA, Va. (WVEC) -- Two employees of WDBJ-TV were killed early Wednesday during a shooting at a shopping center near Smith Mountain Lake in Franklin County.  WDBJ7  Man suspected of killing two WDBJ7 employees shoots himself on I-66 in ...
WDBJ7  Officials believe he shot and killed WDBJ7's Adam Ward and Alison Parker during a live broadcast Wednesday. Flanagan's personal car was found at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport. Virginia Shooting Exposes the Dark Side of Instant Sharing  Wired  That was the case this morning, after a man shot and killed a reporter and cameraman during a live televised interview in Virginia.Video of Virginia Shooting Auto-Played on Twitter and Facebook Wall Street Journal (blog) Some users captured the video and have reposted it on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube - one video on Facebook had more than 3,000 views a few hours after theshooting. Another video on YouTube was recorded by someone pointing a smartphone camera at the ...Suspect in slaying of two TV station employees in SW Virginia shoots himself ...Washington Post  The suspect in the fatal shooting of two television journalists during a live broadcast in Southwest Virginia died Wednesday afternoon at a Washington area hospital after reportedly shooting himself during a chase on a highway west of the city ...

*Wikipedia

Murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward
LocationBridgewater Plaza
MonetaFranklin County,Virginia, United States
Coordinates37.143304°N 79.670275°WCoordinates37.143304°N 79.670275°W
DateAugust 26, 2015
Shooting: 6:46 a.m.
Manhunt 6:46 a.m. – c. 11:30 a.m. (EDT)
TargetAlison Parker and Adam Ward
Attack type
Murder–suicide
WeaponsGlock 9mm pistol[1][2][3]
Deaths3 (including the perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries
1
AssailantVester Lee Flanagan II (aka Bryce Williams)
MotivePerceived workplace animosity and supposed revenge for theCharleston church shooting[4]
Moneta is located in United States
Moneta
Moneta
Location in the United States
On August 26, 2015, news reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward, employees of CBS affiliate WDBJ of Roanoke, Virginia, United States, were shot to death while conducting a live television interview near Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta, Virginia. The news team was interviewing Vicki Gardner, a leader of the local chamber of commerce, when all three were attacked by a gunman. Parker, 24 years old, and Ward, 27, died at the scene, while Gardner was severely injured, but survived.[5][6] Parker and Ward were the seventh and eighth journalists to be killed in the line of work in the United States since 1992.[7][8]
The gunman was later confirmed to be 41-year-old Vester Lee Flanagan II, also known by the professional pseudonym of Bryce Williams, a former reporter at WDBJ. The station fired him for disruptive conduct in 2013.[4][9][10][11][12] After amanhunt that lasted for almost five hours, Flanagan shot himself during a car chase with police officers and died later at a hospital.[13][14]

Events

Parker and Ward were conducting a live interview with Gardner at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Virginia, about upcoming events for the 50th anniversary ofSmith Mountain Lake, located 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Roanoke. The shooting occurred at 6:46 a.m. Eastern Time in the middle of the segment, which was broadcast on WDBJ's morning news program Mornin‍ '​. Video of the incident showed Parker conducting the interview, before at least eight gunshots were heard, followed by screams. Ward's camera fell to the ground, briefly capturing the image of Flanagan holding a 9mm Glock pistol,[1][2] before the broadcast switched back to Mornin‍ '​ anchor Kimberly McBroom, seemingly confused by what had just happened. She later said that she believed that the noises could have been a car backfiring or shots in the background.[15]
It was confirmed that Parker and Ward were killed at the scene, while Gardner was shot in the back. She was subsequently admitted into surgery and survived.[16][17] According to the medical examiner's office, Parker died from gunshot wounds to her head and chest, while Ward died from shots to his head and torso.[18] A total of fifteen shots were fired during the shooting.[1]After reviewing video of the incident from Ward's fallen camera, staff in the WDBJ newsroom identified Flanagan as the likely gunman. They alerted the station's general manager, Jeffrey Marks, who passed the information to the county sheriff.[19] At 8:23 a.m., Flanagan faxed ABC News and phoned shortly after 10:00 a.m., making a confession.[20] During the ensuing manhunt, authorities tracked Flanagan's cell phone to locate him.[21]
After abandoning his Ford Mustang at Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport, Flanagan drove a rented Chevrolet Sonic east on I-66 in Fauquier County. An automated license plate reader in a Virginia state trooper's car identified the rented Sonic at 11:20 a.m. The trooper called for backup and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Flanagan sped away. After a pursuit of less than two miles, Flanagan's car ran off the side of the road and struck an embankment. Flanagan was found inside the car with gunshot wounds,[14] which were apparently self-inflicted while he was driving.[22] Flanagan was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia, where he was declared dead at 1:26 p.m.[23][24]

Victims


Picture of the two victims, WDBJ7 reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward, from @WDBJ7's Twitter account
  • Alison Parker (August 19, 1991 – August 26, 2015) grew up in Martinsville, Virginia, and attended Patrick Henry Community College and James Madison University. She interned at WDBJ in 2012, worked as a general assignment news reporter at ABC affiliate WCTI-TV in New Bern, North Carolina from December of that year until May 2014,[25] and then was hired by WDBJ in 2014 as a correspondent for Mornin‍ '​.[4][26] Parker was in a relationship with Chris Hurst, a news anchor/reporter at the station, whom she had just moved in with; the two had been dating for eight months prior to the shooting.[27][28] She died at the scene of the shooting.
  • Adam Ward (May 10, 1988 – August 26, 2015) grew up in Salem, Virginia, and graduated from Virginia Tech University in 2011. He had worked at the station since July of that year.[29] At the time of his death, he was engaged to WDBJ producer Melissa Ott, who was to leave WDBJ on the day of the shooting for a job at ABC affiliate WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina.[27][30] He died at the scene of the shooting.
  • Vicki Gardner, the interviewee, survived a gunshot wound to the back. Originally from Union Springs, New York, she has been the director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce for thirteen years.[31] After surgery, Gardner was listed in stable condition.[1][31][32]

Perpetrator

Vester Lee Flanagan II
BornOctober 8, 1973[33]
San FranciscoCalifornia, U.S.[33]
DiedAugust 26, 2015 (aged 41)
Falls ChurchVirginia, U.S.
Cause of deathSelf-inflicted gunshot wounds
NationalityAmerican
Other namesBryce Williams (professional name)
EducationSan Francisco State University
Vester Lee Flanagan II (October 8, 1973 – August 26, 2015), professionally known as Bryce Williams, was identified as the perpetrator. He was a journalist originally from the East Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California. Flanagan attended San Francisco State University, where he earned a degree in radio and television in 1995. He interned at CBS affiliate KPIX in San Francisco in 1993, eventually working there as a production assistant and weekend news writer.[34]Before beginning his news career, he was a small-time actor and model.[35]From February 1997 to March 1999, Flanagan worked as a general assignment news reporter at CBS affiliate WTOC-TV in Savannah, Georgia.[36]
Between March 1999 and March 2000, Flanagan worked as a reporter for NBCaffiliate WTWC-TV in Tallahassee, Florida. After losing his job in March 2000, Flanagan – who was African American – filed a civil lawsuit against WTWC alleging racial discrimination. He also allegedly threatened to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Flanagan's lawsuit against WTWC was settled under unspecified terms in January 2001 (WTWC's news department itself was discontinued by the station's owner Sinclair Broadcast Group earlier in November 2000 due to ratings and budget issues). Former colleagues at WTWC later stated that Flanagan was fired for his poor work ethic and that he had fabricated his allegations of discrimination.[37]
According to his LinkedIn profile, Flanagan spent a short period of time working in customer service in a Bank of Americabranch in San Francisco.[38] He later joined CBS affiliate WNCT-TV in Greenville from 2002 until 2004.[36][37] He also found some work at ABC affiliate KMID in Midland, Texas.[1]

WDBJ announces its hiring of Bryce Williams[39]
WDBJ announced their hiring of Flanagan, using the professional name Bryce Williams, as a multimedia journalist on April 19, 2012.[39] During his time there, he had heated confrontations with coworkers and was noted to have breached the company's journalism standards, a poor on-air performance, and demonstrated a lack of thorough reporting.[40] Office memos from WDBJ showed that in July 2012, Dan Dennison, then-news director at the station, ordered Flanagan to contact the Health Advocate after complaints that co-workers were "feeling threatened or uncomfortable" while working with him.[41] It was unclear if Flanagan did so prior to his dismissal.[42]
The station dismissed him on February 1, 2013, citing his volatile temper and difficulty with co-workers. According to a former colleague, Flanagan lashed out at newsroom staffers after learning of his firing, resulting in the staffers being put in a room while police escorted Flanagan out of the building. Ward was said to have recorded Flanagan as he was escorted out and had a confrontation with him that day. He also allegedly threw a wooden cross at Dennison, saying "You need this".[43] WDBJ provided security to the staffers for a time after the incident, and directed them to call 9-1-1 if he ever returned to the station.[12][40][44] Flanagan filed an EEOC complaint against WDBJ, again alleging racial discrimination; he allegedly named Parker in his complaint. Following an investigation, the EEOC dismissed the complaint after Flanagan's claims were not corroborated.[37][45][46]
Following his dismissal, Flanagan got a job at a local UnitedHealth Group call center. He had a confrontation with a female employee who casually pointed out how quiet he was being, to which he responded aggressively, telling her to never talk to him again.[47] One of Flanagan's neighbors in his apartment complex described him as an arrogant person who acted rudely towards people around him. He was noted for sometimes throwing cat feces at the homes of neighbors he had disputes with.[42]
Flanagan maintained accounts on Facebook and Twitter, which were suspended after he was named as a suspect in the shooting. On both profiles, he repeated his claims of racial discrimination by WDBJ, specifically naming Parker and Ward. At 11:14 a.m., following the shooting, Flanagan uploaded a 56-second phone camera video, shot from a first-person perspective of the incident, to his Twitter and Facebook accounts before they were suspended.[48] The video shows the shooter walking up to the scene of the live interview, and brandishing a handgun for approximately 15 seconds without Ward, Parker, or Gardner noticing. He mutters "bitch" while pointing the weapon at Parker, and lowers the gun before raising it again and opening fire directly at Parker. Parker is seen flinching before attempting to run for her life, with the light of Ward's camera being seen quickly dropping before Flanagan pulls the camera away and shuts it off.[49][50][51] Flanagan waited until the television news camera was pointed at Parker before opening fire, to ensure that the incident was shown live on-air.[52][53]
Two hours after the shooting at 8:26 a.m., ABC News received a 23-page fax that was allegedly sent by Flanagan.[54] In the fax, titled "Suicide Note for Friend & Family", he described his grievances over what he alleged to be racial discrimination and sexual harassment committed by black men and white women in his workplace, believing he was targeted because he was a homosexual black man.[14][20][55] Flanagan also claimed to have been provoked by the Charleston church shooting that occurred over two months before and made threatening comments about Dylann Roof, the sole suspect in that crime.[50] He also claimed that Jehovah had told him to act and expressed an admiration for the perpetrators of the Columbine High Schooland Virginia Tech mass shootings.[20][56]
After Flanagan's death, officers searched his rental car and found a number of items including a Glock pistol with severalmagazines and ammunition, a white iPhone, letters, notes, a "to-do" list, and a suitcase containing three license plates and several disguises.[2][42]

Reactions

U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement that he was heartbroken over the murders.[57] Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said on Twitter that he was heartbroken over the shooting and reasserted his support for gun control.[24] He later made calls for tougher gun laws in the state and blamed the state legislature for failing to pass a package of gun control measures he proposed earlier in January.[58] His remarks drew criticism from Republicans, who claimed he was politicizing the tragedy.[2] Virginia Senator Mark Warner gave his condolences to Parker and Ward's families, as well as WDBJ and the first responders involved.[24]
In the wake of the killings various media was either delayed or pulled from TV due to their to the shootings. The USA Networkdelayed their scheduled season finale of Mr. Robot because of similarities between the incident and the story line.[59] SimilarlyIFC also delayed an episode of its series Documentary Now!, replacing the offending "Dronez" episode wth another "Kunuk".[60] Warner Brothers also decided to pull a TV advertisement for Disturb's album Immortalized as it depicted a similar incident to the killings.[61]
On August 27, 2015, that day's edition of WDBJ's Mornin‍ '​ newscast went ahead as usual. Anchor Kimberly McBroom held a moment of silence for the victims at 6:45 a.m., twenty-four hours after the shooting.[62]

Media coverage

Users of Facebook and Twitter criticized the sites' policies of showing videos on autoplay, causing viewers to see graphic images of the murder without warning.[63][64] The incident was described as "America's first social media murder".[65] Head of the American Psychological Association PTSD Guidelines Development Panel Christine Courtois warned that anyone watching the footage was likely to be upset, and some, particularly children and trauma victims, would be more susceptible to this leading to acute stress disorder than others.[66] Several domestic and international newspapers (including the New York PostNew York Daily NewsDaily Mirror and The Sun) were also criticized for their decision to publish still frames from Flanagan's phone video of the murder on their front pages.[67] Of the three US major network evening newscasts on August 26, ABC World News Tonight did not show any part of Flanagan's video, a still frame from the video was broadcast on NBC Nightly News, and the CBS Evening News showed a 25-second segment from the video.[68]

See also


References

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