American Reporters Adam Ward and Alison Parker Killed On Air

[Tani Coyote]

Full story: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/26/us/virginia-shooting-wdbj/

 

Alison Parker was interviewing local official Vicki Gardner in Virginia this morning on live television when shots rang out. Leaked footage shows cameraman Adam Ward dropping his camera after the first shot as the shooter comes into view, shooting at the two women as they flee the scene screaming.

 

Later reports confirm both Ward and Parker were killed, while Gardner is currently in surgery because of a back wound.

 

The shooter looks to be Vester Flanagan, a former reporter at the station who went with the on-air name Bryce Williams. A Twitter account with the same handle was making posts about the shooting, saying such remarks as Alison being a racist, before the account was suspended. The most recent update says Flanagan was confronted by officers on I-66 and shot himself; it is not known if he is dead or injured.

 

Out of respect for the victims, please move political discussion regarding this case to the American Politics thread: http://board.sonicstadium.org/topic/11148-general-american-politics-thread/

 

For my personal opinion, this is just terrible. We usually have been removed from shooting incidents. This one was beamed straight into the homes of numerous Americans. Based on the way the camera flinches and drops with the first shot, it is a safe assumption Ward was killed on the spot.

 

My condolences to the families.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Woah, holy smokes. That's terrible.

My condolences to their famlies at this sad time, may their souls RIP, and I hope Gardener recovers from that back wound!

 

[Failinhearts]

That is horrible AND scarring to the many viewers.

Like @El Dorito said, my condolences to the families affected by this terrible event.

[ZDozer]

...Now that's something one doesn't see everyday. Or anyday.

And yeah, it sucks.

[Nepenthe]

Information we know is that the gunman is Vester Lee Flanigan, also known as Bryce Williams. He's a former employee of the same station but was fired for allegedly hostile and angry behavior. He had put out a manifesto beforehand and actually uploaded his own footage of the shooting. Cops soon got a license plate number and tracked him down on the highway, after which he was presumed dead by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot. However, he is alive and is being treated in the hospital.
EDIT: Nvm, he died at the hospital. Piece of shit coward.

But good news-- The woman being interviewed has come out of surgery and is in stable condition.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Nepenthe

[Patticus]

Predictably, racism has reared its ugly head online, with the #BlackLivesMatter and #WhiteLivesMatter hashtags popping up all over the place. I hope it stays on there and doesn't become a thing on the TV and Trump's speeches and whatnot. This wasn't a race related shooting, although the killer did mention that the female anchor had previously made racist comments.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Patticus

[Vertekins]

There is a racial element to the crime as the fax that perpertrator sent to a news network has the perpertrator expressing admiration for the Columbine high school massacre and Virginia Tech shootings specifically because a lot of white kids were murdered.

[Nepenthe]

He mentioned in his manifesto feeling continually oppressed and attacked as a gay black male throughout his life, and that the thing that really sent him over the edge towards homicidal thoughts was the Charleston Church shooting and the media's insistence on not calling it racially motivated. However, he targeted the reporter herself because he believed she was racist and given a job over him as a result of that systemic bias. While he was undoubtedly fueled by anti-white sentiments, that wasn't the primary factor. She was killed specifically due to the perception her killer had that she was a racist and hurt him as a result. This is in stark contrast to Dylan Roof who targeted people he didn't even know specifically because of their skin color and the historical meaning of their church to the black community.

[Kevin]

Here's the worst part of it all

Imagine just having moved in with your SO, celebrating nine months together, planning to get married, and suddenly, that is all taken away from you! What an awful thing to happen!

[Your Vest Friend]

This one has a tragedy all it's own.

The station was celebrating this producer moving forward with her career before she moved to Charlotte. This was posted an hour before this news started to break. She's the fiancee of Adam Ward. 

[DarkDefeater]

I've just seen the footage of the shooting. Chilling. And comments have already been made about the bride to be that had her future husband taken away. She received her wedding gown on the day of the murder.

I detest how innocents suffer because of such horrific acts.