Reports just now coming in from Bridgewater Plaza near Smith Mountain Lake. Absolutely tragic and senseless. Prayers sent for their families, friends, and coworkers.
Two members of Roanoke/Lynchburg WDBJ TV crew killed during live broadcast
- Thread starter Raising Heel
- Start date
Of course there is footage of the broadcast floating around online. I wouldn't call it graphic, but it's highly disturbing nonetheless since you're watching two people die.
Manhunt is on for the perp. Not sure whether they even have an idea who the shooter was or where the shots came from.
[Edit:] Turns out there is a screen cap showing the shooter. It came from the camera of the cameraman who was shot. He was probably no more than 10 feet away from the victims. Looks like it was a youngish, bearded guy dressed in all black. Looks like he might have had two handguns, one in each hand. Hope they catch this POS.
Manhunt is on for the perp. Not sure whether they even have an idea who the shooter was or where the shots came from.
[Edit:] Turns out there is a screen cap showing the shooter. It came from the camera of the cameraman who was shot. He was probably no more than 10 feet away from the victims. Looks like it was a youngish, bearded guy dressed in all black. Looks like he might have had two handguns, one in each hand. Hope they catch this POS.
Last edited:
Sad day for the WDBJ television family. Prayers are out for both families of the victims.
I knew the camera man. Because of my job, I had met him when WDBJ had done a previous story on us and I had interviewed with them. It's crazy around here right now.
Read somewhere that the cameraman was engaged to the producer of the station and they were preparing to move to a station in Charlotte, NC? And the girl got her start in Jacksonville, NC, apparently.
Just hits really close to home... Ready to take our kids out of school and leave the country at this point. The nuts are running the asylum.
Just hits really close to home... Ready to take our kids out of school and leave the country at this point. The nuts are running the asylum.
And the reporter had been dating the evening anchor for 9 months. They had just moved in together and were talking about getting married. The cameraman was 27 and the reporter was 24. Just makes me sick.
Is anywhere safe anymore? Churches, schools, movie theaters, shopping centers, etc. I'm not sure what the answer is, but doing nothing doesn't seem to be working.
The suspect is being described as a "disgruntled WDBJ employee". Police are in pursuit of him on I-81 north. It's just a matter of time now.
Dude needs to be ripped apart piece by piece while on an adrenaline IV so he doesn't pass out. Basically do to him what Gerard Butler does to that guy in Law Abiding Citizen.
Seriously, this has me depressed guys. I'm about done with humanity.
There's a picture of the shooter, the reporter, and her boyfriend (the evening anchor) on Twitter now. In happier times, obviously. The shooter was a former weekend anchor at the station named Vester Flanagan. No idea what he was disgruntled about or why he chose to target them.
Holy f***ing s***. The shooter is tweeting at this very moment under the account @bryce_williams7. He took a video of the shooting that cuts off just before he pulls the trigger. Also says that the reporter had made racist comments in the past. This guy is a lunatic.
Oh my God. He has video of the shooting itself and has posted it on Twitter. I thought it was a gun in his other hand but it was his phone.
I saw the video of him walking over and "sizing them up" but I don't think I can bring myself to watch the second video.
Supposedly after he was let go from WDBJ, he filled a discrimination suit against the station. It was dismissed in summer of 2014.
You got a link to the twitter account?
I posted it above, but Twitter and Facebook have both already shut down his accounts. His on-air name was Bryce Williams apparently.
You can go to my Twitter account (link below) to see screen shots of what he said about Alison Parker (the reporter) and Adam Ward (the cameraman). She had apparently made racist comments and he had reported Flanagan/Williams to HR for some incident.
I'm sick that I saw that. Like, physically sick. This guy is a wacko and is going to off himself. No way he faces the consequences for what he has done. What a tragedy.
I read on ZZL (who kick ass at aggregating news when stuff like this happens, btw) a description of the second video, and that's enough for me. I don't need to see that.
Pretty detailed story here.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/08/26/3695487/tv-journalist-shooter-id/
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/08/26/3695487/tv-journalist-shooter-id/
Perhaps this isn't the time or place to say this yet, but I'm quite interested to see/read the narrative that develops from this. Here you have a black man who sued for discrimination or whatever, killing two white colleagues because he had beef with them. So.....how will the media frame this one? Or will they just turn it into a gun control thing?
The most disturbing part is that he he was just standing there while the interview was happening and he even brandished the gun and the 3 people there - reporter, cameraman and interview subject - were clueless. The gunman shot the female reporter 3 times and she started running (after being shot 3 times!). The picture on the video goes black at that point and you hear him fire off at least 8 more shots - presumably hitting all 3 people several times. The interview subject - a woman with the SML Chamber of Commerce - is currently in surgery and most reports seem to think she'll live.
A report just surfaced that the killer attempted suicide but failed. Supposedly he still had a pulse when police caught up with him. On one hand, I hope he lives so that he can be locked up. But on the other, I'd hate to waste tax payer money on housing and feeding this piece of shit.
I wouldn't say that was the MOST disturbing part. Kidding aside, you're right. They were hardly even aware of his presence, much less the threat he posed. To me, this is a major point against the argument that more people having guns will prevent this kind of thing. But I don't want to make this thread political out of respect for the two people killed today. I hope the other woman survives surgery without any life-altering complications.
^ yeah I watched the first video (it's probably one continuous video but it was posted to the twitter account as two videos) where he walks around the corner then down the walkway towards them and just sorta hovers around them. The cameraman was sorta just chillin looking the other way, and the reporter and interviewee were chatting. I do not know how those two didn't notice the gun....but I don't think it would've made any difference, unfortunately.
She was interviewing someone on live television and the shooter approached her from the side. She was focused on what she was doing. The cameraman had his back to the shooter. And c'mon, man. That's a jerk question to even ask about two people who were just gunned down in cold blood.
I didn't mean it like that. I just meant how did she miss him when he was standing there and he raises up a gun pointed her way. It wasn't like he was trying to hide. I understand why the cameraman didn't see him. The way he ambled around there, it was as if he wanted them to notice him, and he was familiar to both of them. I guess she was really focused on the interview.
I hope this guy lives long enough to stand trial.
I hope this guy lives long enough to stand trial.
You and me both. I'm not sure he's sane enough to understand the implications of what he has done though.
