UPDATE (7:45 p.m.): The former reporter who police say shot to death two employees from his former TV station live on the air this morning was told by his bosses there to get professional counseling way back in 2012, according to The Guardian.
Citing internal records from Vester Lee Flanagan II's (aka Bryce Williams) personnel file at WDBJ, the newspaper reports that before he was fired Flanagan had been in trouble at work for "lashing out" at a colleague, using "harsh language," and "aggressive body language."
...he had been told to contact employee assistance professionals at the company Health Advocate. “This is a mandatory referral requiring your compliance,” news director Dan Dennison told Flanagan on 30 July 2012. “Failure to comply will result in termination of employment.”
Flanagan later sued the station over his firing and lost. As was previously reported, Flanagan had sued another station for racial discrimination back in 2000. The Daily Dot, obtained a transcript of the complaint from that original suit and published it in full. Here's a piece of what Flanagan claimed, via their story:
Around Summer of 1999, a producer, who acted as his supervisor and “held an upper-level management position,” called him a “monkey.” In the aftermath of the incident, he said that he had learned of other black employees who had been called monkeys by “officials affiliated with” WTWC.
In their official repsonse to the suit, the station said that never happened and that Flanagan was fired for performing his job poorly, failing to follow directions and cursing at work.
See original story below
Early Wednesday morning, WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward were shot to death during a live broadcast near Moneta, Virginia. Though initial reports painted a portrait of a tragic and seemingly random act of violence, an equally tragic narrative quickly emerged of a disgruntled former employee of the station specifically targeting the network.
Known to WDBJ viewers by his on-air pseudonym Bryce Williams, 41-year-old Vester Lee Flanagan II had reportedly been fired from the station two years ago. "We had to separate him from the company," WDBJ General Manager Jeff MarkstellsCNN. "We did understand that he was still living in the area." Flanagan filed a lawsuit against the station in 2014, which he eventually lost. According to related documents obtained by The Daily Beast, Flanagan became disturbingly irate upon being informed of his firing during a 2013 meeting at station headquarters. The incident, captured on camera by Adam Ward, became so volatile that a 911 call was placed. Flanagan reportedly handed one of the station bosses a wooden cross upon exiting the premises and remarked "You'll need this." Marks further elaborated on the station's brief relationship with Flanagan, describing him as a "difficult" and "angry" man:
“Vester was an unhappy man. We employed him as a reporter and he had some talent in that respect and some experience. He quickly gathered a reputation of someone who was difficult to work with. He was sort of looking out to people to say things he could take offense to. Eventually, after many incidents of his anger, we dismissed him. He did not take that well. We had to call police to escort him from the building.”
Shortly after Flanagan murdered Parker and Ward (and injured interview subject Vicki Gardner), he took to his since-deleted Twitter and Facebook accounts to boast of the killing via two disturbing self-filmed videos of the shooting. The videos depicted Flanagan slowly approaching the WDBJ crew before lifting a gun, mumbling something under his breath, and firing upon them:
Marks reportedly rebuked Flanagan's claims of racial discrimination, with BuzzFeed adding that the claims "could not be corroborated by anyone at WDBJ." Also noted by BuzzFeed, Flanagan had previously sued another station for racial discrimination in 2000. After losing his job at WTWC-TV, Flanagan filed a suit claiming that fellow employees at the network had called him "monkey" and other derogatory names. The suit was reportedly settled the following year "under unspecified terms." Similar to Marks' insistence that Flanagan's racial discrimination claims were fabricated, another TV producer who worked with Flanagan briefly at a station in Florida said he "made that crap up." According to LinkedIn, Flanagan also held brief positions in the customer service industry including roles at Bank of America and Pacific Gas & Electric. The following resume reel appeared on YouTube shortly after news of the shooting broke, featuring excerpts from Flanagan's career as a reporter:
On Wednesday morning, ABC News received a mysterious 23-page fax from someone claiming to be "Bryce Williams." The fax was promptly turned over to appropriate authorities for confirmation. In excerpts since released by ABC, Flanagan claims he "put down a deposit for a gun on 6/19/15," adding that the Charleston Church Massacre "happened on 6/17/15." Flanagan cites that racism-fueled shooting as his tipping point, saying Jehovah spoke to him and told him to act. He also references the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, expressing apparent admiration for the shooters behind each tragedy. Elsewhere, in a section of the 23-page document reportedly entitled "A Suicide Note for Friends and Family," Flanagan details physical and verbal abuse he says he endured for being a black gay man. According to ABC, Flanagan had previously attempted to contact the network via phone to "pitch a story." He also called again on Wednesday, shortly after the shooting, but ultimately hung up.
After a contentious chase involving local law enforcement, Flanagan was approached by authorities along I-66 and reportedly shot himself. Though initially believed to have died immediately from the self-inflicted wounds, Flanagan was then found to have a pulse and was reported as being "in critical condition." However, according to the most recent reports from local authorities, he is now confirmed to be deceased.
