WASHINGTON — The man who shot and killed a TV crew and injured a woman fired 17 rounds from a Glock pistol in what investigators are calling a well-planned attack on his former co-workers.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office released new details Friday about the ambush near Smith Mountain Lake, which was captured live by videographer and victim Adam Ward’s camera and witnessed by both WDBJ 7 staff and viewers in the Roanoke area Wednesday morning.
Shooter Vester Flanagan, 41, of Roanoke, had two Glock pistols with him in his rental car when he crashed along Interstate 66 in Fauquier County hours after the shooting. No other guns were found in the car or at other “locations associated with Flanagan.”
He was not wearing body armor at the time of the crash. But investigators don’t know if he was wearing protective clothing when he gunned down Ward and report Alison Parker at the Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, according to the sheriff’s office.
Flanagan also took letters with him in the rental car, a Chevrolet Sonic, that along with writings found in his home and a manifesto sent to ABC News offered no indication where he was headed or his intentions after he left Franklin County.
Despite that, investigators say that Flanagan carefully plotted the day’s events but he shared his plans with no one.
Based on his writings, investigators say that Flanagan “closely identified” with those who have committed other acts of violence including the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Virginia investigators are working with the FBI and ATF to analyze evidence and conduct interviews – work that is expected to continue for several more weeks as the investigation continues.
Flanagan also shot and seriously wounded Vicki Gardner, who met Parker and Ward at the plaza for a live interview about tourism and the lake’s anniversary. Gardner’s husband told ABC News that she is expected to recover. he was shot in the back after she dove to the ground, dodging several bullets.
Flanagan once worked for the Roanoke station and tweets posted after the shooting from what appeared to be Flanagan’s account described workplace conflicts with both Ward and Parker.
After he was fired from the station, Flanagan filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that other employees made racial comments toward him. The complaint was dismissed.
