On Wednesday morning, a local Virginia news station aired live footage of a stunning shooting. Smith Mountain Lake, VA was the site of the crime. The gunman’s name was Vester Flanagan. Alison Parker, the reporter (24 years of age), and Adam Ward, the camera man (27 years of age), were both killed. Parker was a Virginia native who attended community college and James Madison University. In honor of the two victims, JMU’s football team planned to wear decals on their helmets during their season-opening game on Saturday. Ward was also from Virginia and graduated from Virginia Tech. The two victims were covering a story involving tourism at the time of the shooting. The video shows Parker interviewing Vicki Gardner, the executive for the local Chamber of Commerce, and then several quick gun shots. The camera falls over and you can even catch a glimpse of the shooter. The shooting has saddened many citizens all over and has raised many questions on whether or not there were signs of this tragic event in the making.

The gunman’s name was Vester Lee Flanagan. He was an ex-reporter for the station who had been fired. Flanagan was targeting them as a way to get back at WDBJ7. Flanagan has had a history with the news industry and was previously a reporter for a channel out of Greenville, NC. He was fired from WDBJ7 in Virginia because he constantly made racial slurs and didn’t cooperate well with his co-workers. Flanagan had even previously been sued for racism. Jeffrey Marks, the station’s manager, said to the media that Flanagan even had to be escorted out after being fired. It was a terrible ordeal.  He claims he was a ticking time bomb and that the shooting was a result of him finally blowing up. Flanagan even wrote under a fake name, “Bryce Williams”, and sent a fax to WDBJ7 stating: “I have been a human powder keg for a while… just waiting to go BOOM.” Vester Flanagan’s attacks were fatal to both the reporter and the cameraman; however, Vicki Gardner lived to see another day. She was wounded and avoided further injury when Flanagan’s gun malfunctioned. Gardner’s injuries required surgery but she became stable shortly after she was treated. The shooter used a Glock 19 9mm handgun. He had six magazines for the gun on him. It was later found that the gunman had created a fake Twitter account and had raised a little bit of suspicion. A video surfaced on social media depicting the shooting from a first-person point of view; however, it was later proven to be fake when the shell casings were flying the opposite way and there was no recoil. Flanagan fled the scene right after his gun had jammed. While he was on the run he wrecked his car. After he wrecked, he committed suicide, using the same weapon he had killed the innocent reporter and cameraman with. This shooting, just like others that have been circulating in the news, was overall very disturbing.

The initial reaction from the media was complete shock because the shooting was caught on live television. The video went viral shortly after it was aired.  It was a very unsettling video ad it left audiences with so many questions unanswered. Was it staged? What were the conditions of the cameraman, reporter and interviewee? Who was the gunman? What was his purpose for the shooting? Will this serve as another catalyst for the debate on gun control? After it was found that Ward and Parker had died at the scene, it left followers of the situation distraught. There were mixed reactions about the gunman and his suicide. The police did their best to find him before it was too late. Lots of questions about gun control have been raised because of the incident. This shooting has brought many to tears and it is certain that those closely involved will never forget what happened that day.