Reporter, Photographer Killed on Live TV; Suspect Dies of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

MONETA, Va. (AP) — The general manager of a TV station in Virginia says two crew members were fatally shot on air in central Virginia.

Jeffrey A. Marks, general manager of WDBJ-TV, identified the two killed as Alison Parker and Adam Ward. The station says in tweets and in a story on its website that the incident happened at a shopping center. The station says law enforcement officials are on the scene.

The station is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and serves the southwest and central part of the state. The shopping mall is just off Smith Mountain Lake. Moneta is about 25 miles southeast of Roanoke.

WARNING: Graphic Content, Some Viewers May Find the Video Disturbing:

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The Associated Press is reporting that the suspect, Vester Lee Flanagan, has died.

A Virginia official says the suspect in the fatal shooting of two TV station employees during a live broadcast has died. Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran says Vester Flanagan died at 1:26 p.m. Wednesday.

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From the Virginia State Police Facebook page:

Franklin County Shooting Suspect In Custody

Shortly before 11:30 a.m., Virginia State Police spotted the suspect vehicle headed eastbound on Interstate 66. With emergency lights activated the Virginia State Police trooper initiated a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle. The suspect vehicle refused to stop and sped away from the trooper. Minutes later, the suspect vehicle ran off the road and crashed. The troopers approached the vehicle and found the male driver suffering from a gunshot wound. He is being transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

The male driver is believed to be the same male subject who shot three people this morning in Franklin County during a television news interview.

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As reported earlier, Bryce Williams recorded the shooting of WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward and then posted it to social media.  William's Twitter and Facebook pages were immediately suspended.  However, copies of the video still exist, but we have decided NOT to show the video beyond the above image taken moments before shots rang out.

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ABC News reported that it has received a fax containing a 23-page manifesto from someone named Bryce Williams, the news outlet tweeted. The document has been handed over to investigators, ABC said.

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CNN is reporting that police confronted Vester Flanagan on Highway 66 in Virginia and that he shot himself. No details as to his condition are available at this time.

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Bryce Williams Twitter account has since been suspended. However, a screen grab was made by Liz Bix before it was removed.

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According to CNN, the "person of interest" Vester L. Flanagan (also known as Bryce Williams) posted video of the shooting he took with a GoPro camera on his Facebook page and/or Twitter account. In addition, CNN reports that Flanagan had sued the TV station for racial discrimination, and he had accused reporter Alison Parker of making racial comments towards him. This information cannot be independently verified.

Below is a screen grab of the video shot by Flanagan prior to the shooting:

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A person of interest is being sought in the shooting deaths of WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward, as well the shooting injury of Vicki Gardner of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Police are looking for former WDBJ anchor Bryce Williams, who is also known as Vester L. Flanagan.

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Virginia State Police have released a video still of the shooter.

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10:55 a.m.

The Virginia TV station that saw two of its employees fatally shot during a live broadcast has identified a third person who was injured during the shooting.

WDBJ-TV says on its website that Vicki Gardner of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce was injured in incident Wednesday morning. She was being interviewed by reporter Alison Parker around 6:45 a.m. about tourism. Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has said the arrest of a suspect in the shooting is imminent. He says police are in pursuit of the suspect, believed to be a disgruntled employee of the station, on the highway.

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10:45 a.m.

The general manager of a Virginia TV station that saw a reporter and cameraman fatally shot during a live broadcast says his employees have been told to stay in the building, with police protection.

Jeffrey Marks, the president and general manager of WDBJ-TV, said hours after the Wednesday morning shooting that police advised employees to stay inside.

He told The Associated Press: "Police have advised us that as long as this person is on the loose, we should stay in the building. We have police protection."

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has said police are pursuing a suspect on the highway. He says authorities believe the suspect is a disgruntled TV station employee.

Marks says about 50 people work at WDBJ7.

"It's the kind of place where it's all brothers and sisters," he said. "We're all just real heartbroken."

Marks says a nearby TV station that is normally a competitor is covering other, unrelated news and will share video with the station.

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10:40 a.m.

Virginia Gov. McAuliffe says police are chasing the suspect in a fatal on-air shooting, and his arrest is imminent.

McAuliffe says on a radio show on WTOP that the suspect is believed to be a disgruntled employee of WDBJ-TV. He says police are pursuing the suspect on Interstate 64.

McAuliffe made the remarks during an appearance on the radio station's regular "Ask the Governor" show on Wednesday morning. Hours earlier, a reporter and a cameraman were killed on air as they worked on a live broadcast at a shopping center in Moneta, in central Virginia.

McAuliffe says that law enforcement personnel have a photo of the suspect and that he was known to the victims.

He says: "We believe it's a disgruntled employee of the station, and they're in pursuit."

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office says in a news release that video recorded by the station's camera shows the male suspect holding a weapon.

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10:30 a.m.

Virginia Gov. McAuliffe says police are chasing the suspect in a fatal on-air shooting, and his arrest is imminent.

McAuliffe says on a radio show on WTOP in Virginia that the suspect is believed to be a disgruntled employee of WDBJ-TV. He says police are pursuing the suspect on Interstate 64.

Two station employees were killed in the incident Wednesday morning.

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10:10 a.m.

A spokesman for the Virginia TV station that saw two of its employees fatally shot on air describes the slain cameraman as WDBJ-TV's "go-to guy."

WDBJ spokesman Mike Morgan says 27-year-old Adam Ward was engaged to a producer at the station, Melissa Ott.

Morgan says Adam had been with the station for four years.

Morgan says: "Adam was our go-to guy. He pretty much was available to do anything that we asked. He did live shots during our morning show for several years."

Also killed in the incident — at 6:45 a.m. at a shopping center overlooking a manmade lake — was reporter Alison Parker, who was dating the station's 6 p.m. anchor, Chris Hurst.

No suspect has been identified, and no motive is known in the shooting.

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10 a.m.

An anchor at the Virginia TV station that saw two of its employees fatally shot on air says he was in love with the reporter who died and that they wanted to get married.

Reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed in the Wednesday morning on-air shooting at a shopping center. Anchor Chris Hurst says in tweets that although the two didn't share their relationship publicly, they were in love and had just moved in together.

Hurst tweeted: "We were together almost nine months. It was the best nine months of our lives. We wanted to get married. We just celebrated her 24th birthday."

He also tweeted about the second victim, Ward, saying that Parker "worked with Adam every day. They were a team. I am heartbroken for his fiancee."

Hurst described the TV station as a family, tweeting: "I am comforted by everyone at @WDBJ7."

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9:40 a.m.

After the on-air fatal shooting of two employees of a central Virginia TV station, the general manager appeared on air and called it a terrible crime, saying authorities don't know who the gunman is.

WDBJ-TV general manager Jeffrey A. Marks called the Wednesday morning incident at a shopping center "a terrible crime against two fine journalists."

Marks said on air that neither the station nor officials know the motive for the shooting or any identify of a suspect. He says he has talked with authorities and they are working diligently to find out.

In the video of the incident, as the camera falls to the ground, it captures a fleeting image of a man in black pants and a blue top who appears to be holding a handgun.

The station has identified the two killed as reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward.

Marks said on air: "I cannot tell you how much they were loved. Alison and Adam."

"Our hearts are broken."

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9:40 a.m.

Video shows the fatal shooting of two TV station employees who were killed in an on-air shooting in central Virginia.

In the video from the Wednesday incident, a female reporter is interviewing someone about tourism on Bridgewater Plaza in Franklin County. She was smiling when suddenly at least eight shots were heard. The camera appeared to be dropped on the ground. The reporter can be heard screaming.

As the camera falls to the ground, it captures a fleeting image of a man in black pants and a blue top who appears to be holding a handgun.

The station then switches back to a shot of an anchor back at the station, who has a shocked expression on her face.

In tweets and on its website, WDBJ-TV identified the two killed as reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward.

The station is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and serves the southwest and central part of the state. The shopping mall where the incident happened is just off Smith Mountain Lake.

Moneta is about 25 miles southeast of Roanoke.

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9:30 a.m.

After the on-air fatal shooting of two TV station employees in central Virginia, a picture of the two victims has started to emerge.

WDBJ-TV, based in Roanoke, says reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed in the Wednesday morning shooting at a shopping center on a lake in Moneta.

According to the station website, Parker was a morning reporter. She graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and was news editor of its recognized newspaper, The Breeze. She also had been an intern at WDBJ-TV.

The TV station also linked to her Facebook page, which says Parker spent most of her live outside Martinsville, Virginia.

Parker previously worked at WCTI NewsChannel 12 in Jacksonville, North Carolina, near Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. She was an avid kayaker and attended community theater events in her spare time.

The station says Ward was 27 and a graduate of Virginia Tech.

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9:25 a.m.

Video shows the fatal shooting of two TV station employees who were killed in an on-air shooting in central Virginia.

In the video from the Wednesday incident, a female reporter is interviewing someone about tourism on Bridgewater Plaza in Franklin County. She was smiling when suddenly at least eight shots were heard. The camera appeared to be dropped on the ground. The reporter can be heard screaming.

The station then switches back to a shot of an anchor back at the station, who has a shocked expression on her face.

In tweets and on its website, WDBJ-TV identified the two killed as reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward.

The station is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and serves the southwest and central part of the state. The shopping mall where the incident happened is just off Smith Mountain Lake.

Moneta is about 25 miles southeast of Roanoke.

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9:20 a.m.

The TV station employees who were killed in an on-air shooting in central Virginia have been identified as a 27-year-old and a 24-year-old.

In tweets and on its website, WDBJ-TV identified the two killed Wednesday as Alison Parker and Adam Ward. The station's website says Ward was 27 and a graduate of Virginia Tech. Parker just turned 24 and attended James Madison University.

In a tweet, the station says "We love you, Alison and Adam."

It was not clear who the shooter was.

The station says in tweets and in a story on its website that the incident happened at a shopping center. The station says law enforcement officials are on the scene.

The station is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and serves the southwest and central part of the state. The shopping mall is just off Smith Mountain Lake.

Moneta is about 25 miles southeast of Roanoke.

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9:15 a.m.

The general manager of a TV station in Virginia says two crew members were fatally shot on air in central Virginia.

Jeffrey A. Marks, general manager of WDBJ-TV, identified the two killed as Alison Parker and Adam Ward.

The station says in tweets and in a story on its website that the incident happened Wednesday morning at a shopping center. The station says law enforcement officials are on the scene.

The station is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and serves the southwest and central part of the state. The shopping mall is just off Smith Mountain Lake.

Moneta is about 25 miles southeast of Roanoke.

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