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MONETA, Va. — A television news reporter and photographer were shot and killed on live television near Roanoke on Tuesday morning.
Hours later the man suspected of the shootings turned the gun on himself. He later died at an area hospital.
During the live interview, approximately eight gunshots are heard as WDBJ reporter Alison Parker is seen interviewing someone on-screen.
The camera then drops to the ground, and the reporter can be heard screaming.
WDBJ confirms Parker, 24, and photographer Adam Ward, 27, both died.
It appears the killer may have been caught on camera, as a still frame is being passed around that clearly shows a man holding a gun.
Police are looking for Vester Lee Flanagan, who went by the name Bryce Williams when he was a reporter at WDBJ. Flanagan has been fired and was described as “disgruntled.”
Several hours after the shooting, tweets began appearing on Flanagan’s now-suspended twitter account.
The tweets said Parker made a racist comment that Flanagan reported to the EEOC.
A following tweet said, “They hired her after that?”
Parker had been an intern before being hired as a reporter.
The next tweet said, “Adam went to hr on me after working with me one time!!!” The next two tweets show the shooting, which was recorded on a cell phone.
Ward was engaged to a producer at WDBJ who was planning to celebrate her last day at the station later in the day Wednesday.
The person they were interviewing, Vicki Gardner, the executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, was shot in the back and is in surgery.
https://twitter.com/courtchatter/status/636528955621699584We are trying to figure out what just happened — thank you all for your concern and kind words.
— WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) August 26, 2015
