
In addition to working in Virginia from March 2012 to February 2013, Williams worked as a multimedia journalist and general assignment reporter at a number of stations throughout the South, including WNCT in Greenville, NC, WTWC in Tallahassee and WTOC in Savannah, according to WDBJ. Reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward Facebook The shooter is seen in this still shot firing during the live broadcast.ĪBC News received a 23-page fax from someone purporting to be Bryce Williams, which was turned over to authorities. During the video, he can be seen holding what appears to be a machine pistol. 20, the on-air reporter can be seen doing a story about guns. In a demo reel posted to Facebook on Aug.

In two videos posted to Williams’ Facebook and Twitter pages, which were later deleted, he can be seen opening fire on Ward and Parker as Parker reports live from the Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Va.Īt one point, Williams’ pistol appears to be no more than 6 inches from Parker’s face as she unknowingly continues her interview. “Adam went to hr on me after working with me one time!!!” “Alison made racist comments,” he tweeted at 10:09 a.m. In a Twitter rant just hours after the killings, Williams complained about the way Parker, 24, and Ward, 27, treated him because he was black.
#Journalist and cameraman shot tv
The 41-year-old Roanoke resident worked with the station for about a year before being fired in 2013 after becoming increasingly “difficult” to deal with, the station’s manager, Jeffrey Marks, said Wednesday during a live TV segment. Vester Lee Flanagan II, a former on-air reporter who worked under the name Bryce Williams, killed Alison Parker and Adam Ward from the Roanoke affiliate WDBJ. Parker, 24, had recently moved in with another co-worker, WDBJ anchor Christ Hurst.The suspect in a deadly on-air shooting of a reporter and a cameraman in Virginia was a disgruntled former colleague who posted videos of the murders to Twitter and accused the pair of racism. Ward, 27, was engaged to a producer at the station, Melissa Ott, who was celebrating her last day on the job. He did not take that well,” Marks explained, adding that police had to escort him out of the station when he was fired. “Eventually after many incidents of his anger coming to the fore, we dismissed him. The gunman waited until Ward’s camera was pointed at Parker, and then fired repeatedly.įlanagan was described by Jeffrey Marks, WDBJ’s president and general manager as an “an unhappy man” and “difficult to work with,” always “looking out for people to say things he could take offense to.” The shooter walked up to the victims and stood a few feet away, but with all three in the midst of the live TV interview, none seemed to notice. Video posted on Bryce Williams’ Twitter account and Facebook page hours later showed an outstretched arm holding the handgun. Their interview subject, Vicki Gardner, was in stable condition today after surgery for her wounds. Parker and Ward died at the scene after the gunman fired about 15 shots. WDBJ quickly switched back to the anchor at the station, her eyes large and jaw dropping as she said, “OK, not sure what happened there.” The station later went live again, reporting on their own staff as the story developed. Ward fell, too, and the camera he had been holding on his shoulder captured a fleeting image of the suspect holding a handgun. Then, at about 6:45 a.m., morning show viewers saw her suddenly scream and run, crying “Oh my God,” as she fell. The live spot by reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward was nothing out of the ordinary: They were interviewing a local official at an outdoor shopping mall for a tourism story. Troopers caught up with him hours later and hundreds of miles away after he fatally shot himself and ran off the road. As he fled, he switched vehicles, picking up a rental car he had previously reserved at an airport.

Vester Lee Flanagan II, 41, who appeared on WDBJ as Bryce Williams, had evidently been planning the attack for some time, authorities said. He also reportedly faxed a 23-page manifesto and “suicide note” to ABC News, describing himself as a “human powder keg” that was “just waiting to go BOOM!!!!” The gunman, who was fired in 2013 from WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, fled the scene and went online, posting the video on Facebook and Twitter.

(AP) - A TV reporter and cameraman were shot to death on live television today by their former colleague, a journalist who also recorded himself carrying out the killings and then posted the video on social media. Domain menu for The Greenwood Commonwealth (main - mobile)
