Former NorCal Resident Suspected of Killing 2 During Live Television Interview

By GREG HAMBRICK (Patch Staff)

A former Bay Area resident who opened fire on a television reporter and her cameraman outside Roanoke, Va., killing them during a live interview, has shot himself in northern Virginia. State Police said he crashed his car during a chase and was found with a gunshot wound when troopers got to his car.

He is being treated at an area hospital for life-threatening injuries after being airlifted from Interstate 66 in Faquier County.

A state trooper identified the vehicle suspected in the case shortly before 11:30 a.m. as it headed east on Interstate 66. The driver would not pull over for police, according to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

“Minutes later, the suspect vehicle ran off the road and crashed,” she said. “The troopers approached the vehicle and found the male driver suffering from a gunshot wound.”

The alleged shooter has been identified as Vester Lee Flanagan, according to the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office. Flanagan was reportedly a former WDBJ employee who reported under the name Bryce Williams.

Flanagan was originally from Vallejo and used to work for KPIX in San Francisco, the station reported. According to KPIX, he worked there from 1993 to 1995 as an intern, production assistant and writer.

According to Flanagan’s LinkedIn profile, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in broadcast journalism.

XETV-San Diego news director Don Shafer fired Flanagan in 2000 for bizarre behavior while he was working in Florida, according to the station.

Flanagan killed himself after authorities confronted him on Interstate 66 in Faquier County, according to WDBJ.

Facebook and Twitter accounts attributed to Bryce Williams showed the shootings from the point of view of the shooter. The accounts, which were quickly suspended Wednesday morning, also included statements critical of the victims.

WDBJ-TV has identified the victims as Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, 27, two members of its news team.

Ward was the cameraman during a live segment for the morning broadcast regarding tourism at Bridgewater Plaza. Parker was interviewing a business leader, who was wounded in the attack.

“Not a case of terrorism. It is a criminal case,” Virgina Gov. Terry McAuliffe told WTOP radio.

Vicki Gardner, head of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, was shot in the back during the shooting and is in surgery, according to the Roanoke Times.

A video of the broadcast shows the reporter interviewing Gardner when gunshots are heard. The camera falls to the ground and cries are heard.

Parker had recently moved in with her boyfriend, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst.

“I am numb,” Hurst wrote in messages on Twitter, noting that Parker had recently celebrated her birthday. “She worked with Adam every day. They were a team.”

Ward was engaged to a producer at the television station.

This is a developing story, refresh this page for more details as they come in.

--Guest editor Alexander Nguyen contributed to this story. Photo: Victims from WDBJ7 on Twitter. Image of shooter from broadcast footage, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.