[Kolzilla41]

http://m.wdbj7.com/watch-wdbj7-live/24732062 He is in critical condition. Not dead yet.

[SuperJon]

The suspect is former WDBJ reporter Bryce Williams. He actually filmed the shooting with a GoPro and posted it to Twitter/Facebook.

Who is the "Vester Lee Flanagan" all of the news outlets are calling the suspect?

Same dude.

[LUconn]

He actually filmed the shooting with a GoPro and posted it to Twitter/Facebook.

This is going to be a thing now. There's always going to be more shootings but this is a new wrinkle that is sure to be copied.

[ATrain]

The suspect is former WDBJ reporter Bryce Williams. He actually filmed the shooting with a GoPro and posted it to Twitter/Facebook.

Who is the "Vester Lee Flanagan" all of the news outlets are calling the suspect?

Bryce Williams was his on-air name. Vest Lee Flanagan is his real name.

[coastalalum]

Both victims were not just local as far as being WDBJ reporters - they were true locals. Alison graduated from Martinsville High School (many years after me). Adam Ward was from Salem.

Truly a senseless tragedy. My prayers for everyone involved.

[alabama24]

Very sad. Many schools were on lockdown, which is disturbing to us parents... but glad for the precautions.

[BJWilliams]

I was talking to my wife about this and if he lives through this, he probably will get wither capital murder or "murder 1" for the reporter and the cameraman and at minimum attempted murder or malicious wounding for the pther lady anjd he wont see the light of day again

[ballcoach15]

He should get the "chair", but some liberal attorney will try to get him off charges.

[R i]

WDBJ7 GM, needs to zip it up. I have seen a few quotes from him today, none of which are going to be helpful to him in the future.

[Purple Haize]

I was supposed to go to Front Royal today from Winchester. Not happening now

The videos were very eerie

[olldflame]

Flanigan was airlifted to a hospital and was declared dead at 1:30

[olldflame]

He should get the "chair", but some liberal attorney will try to get him off charges.

Well, he´s dead. so you won´t have that to moan about. If he had survived to face charges, yes, he would have been represented by an attorney who would hopefully have done his or her best to defend him. That´s how it works in our country.

[Humble_Opinion]

He writes what triggered today’s carnage was his reaction to the racism of the Charleston church shooting: “Why did I do it? I put down a deposit for a gun on 6/19/15. The Church shooting in Charleston happened on 6/17/15… What sent me over the top was the church shooting. And my hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them."

It is unclear whose initials he is referring to. He continues, “As for Dylann Roof? You (deleted)! You want a race war (deleted)? BRING IT THEN YOU WHITE …(deleted)!!!” He said Jehovah spoke to him, telling him to act. Later in the manifesto, the writer quotes the Virginia Tech mass killer, Seung Hui Cho, calls him “his boy,” and expresses admiration for the Columbine High School killers. “Also, I was influenced by Seung–Hui Cho. That’s my boy right there. He got NEARLY double the amount that Eric Harris and Dylann Klebold got…just sayin.'"

http://abcnews.go.com/US/shooting-alleg ... d=33336339

[rogers3]

Very disturbing. I was following the story around 11:00 am, saw his name and searched. I was linked to a tweet that had his Twitter account from his WDBJ days. When I clicked on it, he was actively tweeting comments about the people he had just shot. By the time I had told someone in the office to come over and look at it, a video had been put up. Within 2 minutes a second video was up and I had to turn it off...what was happening was obvious. All this was going on while this guy was being chased up I-81 in the Harrisonburg area. I'm sure many here will be praying for for these young people's families and loved ones.

[SuperJon]

I hate to go here, but I will:

This is an interesting spot for the national media. The killer was a gay black man who claimed to be bullied and harassed. To him, his actions were in response to that.

Does the media call this a racist crime?
Does the media call this a hate crime?
Does the media show him sympathy because of the bullying?

Normally the answers to those questions would be no, no, and yes. However, this guy murdered two of their own. Does the media call a spade a spade and call this what it is or do they react like normal?

[flamehunter]

Agreed SJ. They are in a tight spot here. Hold the normal line or defend their own. They are creative and they will find a way to do both. I don't believe however, that you will here the nightly news call it a hate crime.

[ALUmnus]

I think the patterns with this guy reveal that the bullying was self-perceived. This was an angry dude with a chip on his shoulder. The fact that he wasn't good at his job gave him reason to think the world was against him. It was delusion on parade that boiled over.

[prototype]

Guy was sick. Full story. Disgruntled employee who thinks he was mistreated. Planned this for a while. Walked up behind camera as they were shooting and actually waved his gun, but not one was paying attention. Shot the whole thing with his cell phone camera -

Not sure what this world is coming to. Sad.

[jinxy]

This situation is heartbreaking. Bridgewater is 5 min from my house. There was only one other person there that early and the brightness of the led light on the camera kept vicki or the reporter from seeing this coming. She has life altering injuries and once the specifics come out you'll be even more sickened. This was a planned execution in a remote setting and he intended to execute her as well but the gun either jammed or ran out of bullets. This guy was pure evil

[BJWilliams]

And of course the Democrats politicize the situation and cry out for gun control...smh...even the father (who I can only fault so much since he is reacting in the emotion of the situation) is calling for increased gun control

[SuperJon]

And of course the Democrats politicize the situation and cry out for gun control...smh...even the father (who I can only fault so much since he is reacting in the emotion of the situation) is calling for increased gun control

It's not just Democrats, Beej. The father even said he supports the second amendment but feels we need to limit who can get guns and what they can get. At some point you realize the system is broken and want to fix it. It's possible to have gun control while still allowing citizens to own guns.

[ATrain]

I've seen some pretty stupid memes coming from my friends on the right over the past few days, and none really from my friends on the left.

[BJWilliams]

The thing is Jon, its a reactive response. unfortunately what atrain is seeing is also a reactive response, and also missing the point. this situation should not be about politics right now. Two families (three if you count the cameraman's fiance) lost loved ones. what needs to happen right now is gathering around these hurting people and being with them as they grieve. any talk of fixing the problem or what have you needs to come later, when it can't be tainted by the raw emotion of the events that occurred.

[SuperJon]

The thing is Jon, its a reactive response.

Who cares if it's reactive? Most things in life are reactive.

[BJWilliams]

There is a difference between a reaction to something and a reactive response. when you boo at a bad call at a sporting event, that's a reaction, but when a rule is changed because of said bad call, that is a reactive response.

Not everything is reactive (if one of the 7 habits of highly effective people is correct). it is possible to be proactive while not necessarily being driven by the emotion of the moment. Now, what I am NOT saying is to not be emotional. As I said before, families lost loved ones in this tragic event, so of course there will be a lot of emotion, which is expected as part of the grieving process. what cannot happen though is that as a result of that emotion, you make a rash decision or assumption. either way, now is not the time for looking at fixinga broken gun control system or what not, its time to grieve. after that, then we can look at what can be fixed, and take a logical, detailed look at the mental health system, the gun acquisition process and other things.