The Virginia Shooting Suspect Has Reportedly Fatally Shot Himself

Published 21:26 26 Aug 2015 BST

Updated 00:46 27 Aug 2015 BST

Megan Cassidy

The Virginia Shooting Suspect Has Reportedly Fatally Shot Himself

The suspect in the Moneta, Virginia shooting in which two journalists were gunned down during a live broadcast, has reportedly shot and killed himself. WDBJ reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, were killed during a live news segment today in an attack authorities have said was carried out by a former employee of WDBJ. WDBJ General Manager Jeffrey A.Marks spoke during live coverage of the attack, and said: "I can tell you one thing. Alison was everything. She was just such a positive person." The incident is said to have occurred at 6.45 am local time. Police have now said that the suspect, 41-year-old Vester Flanagan, fatally shot himself several hours after fleeing the scene as police pursued him on a Virginia highway. Social media posts uploaded in the intervening hours by a man identifying as Bryce Williams (Flanagan's on-air name) depicted views of the attack from the killer's vantage point.

A grab from a video seemingly taken by Vester Lee Flanagan, who also goes by the name Bryce Williams as he shot at WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. The video was uploaded to Facebook 20 minutes ago. See SWNS story. The disgruntled former news reporter who shot dead two of his ex-coworkers during a live TV segment this morning in Moneta, Virginia had a grudge against the journalist and cameraman he killed. Vester Lee Flanagan, who also goes by Bryce Williams, started tweeting just after 11am this morning explaining why he opened fire on WDBJ reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27. Flanagan, who is African American, wrote that Parker made 'racist comments' and that a complaint was filed against her through the equal employment opportunity commission, but his station chose to hire her anyway. As for Ward, Flanagan says that after working with the cameraman once, Ward complained to HR about the former multimedia and general assignment reporter. It's unclear what exactly happened between the two men.

A video was released from the killer's vantage point. The posts were soon removed and the accounts suspended.

We love you, Alison and Adam. pic.twitter.com/hLSzQi06XE
— WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) August 26, 2015

It is with extreme sadness that we report WDBJ7's Alison Parker and Adam Ward were killed in an attack this morning. http://t.co/oC9s4vLJXV — WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) August 26, 2015

Law enforcement is on scene at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta. The incident involves a WDBJ7 crew. This is all we know. http://t.co/hmQe15vOUk
— WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) August 26, 2015

We are trying to figure out what just happened -- thank you all for your concern and kind words. — WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) August 26, 2015

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