Suspect in On-Air Murders Has Died

Vester Lee Flanagan lived for 2 hours after shooting himself on I-66 in Virginia
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 26, 2015 9:57 AM CDT
Updated Aug 26, 2015 1:26 PM CDT
Cameraman Captured Image of His Killer
Reporter Alison Parker and videographer Adam Ward, who were killed today when a gunman opened fire.   (Courtesy of WDBJ-TV7 via AP)

The man suspected of fatally shooting a cameraman and a reporter during a live broadcast this morning has died after shooting himself, reports WDBJ-TV. Vester Lee Flanagan was pronounced dead at 1:26pm today in a hospital, Virginia state police confirm, per the AP. He had been traveling on I-66 in Fauquier County; he had first been reported dead, reports that were corrected to "very critical condition." Flanagan has been described as a disgruntled former employee of WDBJ in Roanoke, where victims Adam Ward and Alison Parker worked. ABC News reports that it has turned over to authorities a lengthy fax it received last night from Flanagan, sent under his professional name of Bryce Williams.

In another horrifying twist to the shooting, Flanagan—under the name of Williams—boasted of the attack and posted video of it on Facebook and Twitter, reports the Daily Beast. Both accounts were quickly shut down. Flanagan, who was black, also tweeted about filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint and accused Parker of making racist comments. "They hired her after that???" he tweeted. The woman being interviewed by Parker at the time of the shooting also was hit and was undergoing surgery this morning. (More shooting stories.)

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