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Vester Lee Flanagan Is Live TV Murderer
Vester Lee Flanagan was once known as a budding television news reporter with a bright future. Today, he is known as the man who killed a news team on live TV, before killing himself.
It was a horrible tragedy. The unthinkable.
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On Wednesday morning, during a 6:45am live interview on WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed in cold blood. After 15 rapid gunshots, they both died almost instantly. As cameraman Ward fell to the concrete and was taking his last breath, his camera captured the fleeing image of the lone gunman. It was Vester Lee Flanagan — the former colleague who had worked with Parker and Ward at WDBJ.
He planned the execution with careful precision, then boastfully shared his own recording of the murders worldwide on social media for all to see. In the footage, Vester Lee Flanagan approached his former co-workers as they conducted a live interview — his gun already in hand. He pointed the gun at Parker and then at Ward, but waited patiently to pull the trigger until he was sure Parker was on camera. He wanted to be certain she was gunned down on-air so as to receive the maximum exposure and shock value.
Following the murders, the gunman fled the scene. He was eventually cornered by police, but turned the gun on himself before they could apprehend him and allow justice to prevail. He later died at a local hospital.
Vester Lee Flanagan was best known by his on-air name of Bryce Williams, and for working as a male “companion.” In what was seen as part-manifesto, part-suicide note, Flanagan sent a 23-page fax to the ABC Newsroom after the killings. In it, he wrote “MY NAME IS BRYCE WILLIAMS,” referring to himself as a gay black man who had been mistreated by people of all races. He then described what triggered his killing spree:
“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.”
“Yeah I’m all f*cked up in the head,” he added.
Flanagan went on to describe himself as a “human powder keg,” that was “just waiting to go BOOM!!!!”
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His self-description was extremely accurate, since colleagues recalled him as a man who was always looking for reasons to be offended.
The 41-year-old Flanagan was fired from WDBJ in 2013 after only 1 year on the job. He was described by station president and general manager, Jeffrey Marks, as “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.
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On his (now deleted) Twitter page, Flanagan described workplace conflicts with both shooting 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 several employees made racially tinged comments toward 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.
“We did a thorough investigation and could find no evidence that anyone had racially discriminated against this man,” Dan Dennison, former WDBJ news director 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 stations where he bounced around remembered Flanagan as quick to file complaints. He was fired at least twice before after managers said he was causing problems with other employees.
Members of the WDBJ news team were horrified, as they were forced to report on a live murder — something they’ve had to do many times in the past, but never involving members of their own news family. Through remembrances and tears, Parker and Ward were eulogized throughout the day.
Alison Parker was a 24-year-old reporter who was considered a rising “rock star.” Her 27-year-old cameraman, Adam Ward, was engaged to a WDBJ producer who watched the murders live from the control room. Their interview subject, Vicki Gardner, was also shot but survived. She is currently hospitalized and in stable condition.
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Sad story all around. Obviously this was a troubled man who needed mental help. Too bad he had to kill some people and himself before he could get it.