The airwaves carried not just news but a palpable shock on August 26, 2015, when the unimaginable unfolded live in front of our eyes. It's a moment that has etched itself into my memory, as I'm sure it has for many of you, when two promising journalists, Allison Parker and Adam Ward, were fatally ambushed on air. As your host, I invite you to join us in honoring their memory, and also to gain insight into the complex landscape of mental health that played a role in this tragedy. This episode doesn't just recount the harrowing details that unfolded at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Virginia, but also shares the resilient voice of Vicki Gardner, who survived against all odds. Her testimony is a beacon of strength in the aftermath of senseless violence, reminding us of the importance of community solidarity and the pressing need for mental health resources.
Dissecting the psyche of a troubled man, the second chapter of our narrative focuses on Vester Lee Flanagan—the perpetrator of this heinous act. With meticulous planning and a disturbing admiration for past mass murderers, Flanagan's backstory is a jarring reminder of the potential for darkness that can reside within. Conjuring more than just a timeline of events, this episode paints a vivid picture of the warning signs that, in hindsight, signal the urgent need for intervention. We confront these difficult topics head-on, not to sensationalize, but to understand, learn, and foster a dialogue that could prevent future tragedy. Through these reflections, we aim to honor those we've lost by advocating for a future where mental health is not a footnote but a forefront in our collective consciousness.
The airwaves carried not just news but a palpable shock on August 26, 2015, when the unimaginable unfolded live in front of our eyes. It's a moment that has etched itself into my memory, as I'm sure it has for many of you, when two promising journalists, Allison Parker and Adam Ward, were fatally ambushed on air. As your host, I invite you to join us in honoring their memory, and also to gain insight into the complex landscape of mental health that played a role in this tragedy. This episode doesn't just recount the harrowing details that unfolded at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Virginia, but also shares the resilient voice of Vicki Gardner, who survived against all odds. Her testimony is a beacon of strength in the aftermath of senseless violence, reminding us of the importance of community solidarity and the pressing need for mental health resources.
Dissecting the psyche of a troubled man, the second chapter of our narrative focuses on Vester Lee Flanagan—the perpetrator of this heinous act. With meticulous planning and a disturbing admiration for past mass murderers, Flanagan's backstory is a jarring reminder of the potential for darkness that can reside within. Conjuring more than just a timeline of events, this episode paints a vivid picture of the warning signs that, in hindsight, signal the urgent need for intervention. We confront these difficult topics head-on, not to sensationalize, but to understand, learn, and foster a dialogue that could prevent future tragedy. Through these reflections, we aim to honor those we've lost by advocating for a future where mental health is not a footnote but a forefront in our collective consciousness.
Just days after her 24th birthday in August 2015, allison Parker and 27-year-old cameraman Adam Ward were murdered in the middle of an on-air morning interview, which was broadcast in real time. On August 26, 2015, reporter Allison Parker and Adam Ward, her cameraman, arrived at work ready to go on air. Parker worked for WDBJ7, a local news station in Roanoke, virginia. That day, parker and Ward were on location in Moneta for an interview with Vicki Gardner, the executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce. But then, in the middle of the interview, gunshots rang out. As the camera continued to broadcast live, a gunman fired at Parker, gardner and Ward. All three fell to the ground, with Ward's camera catching a brief glimpse of the shooter. The gunman fired from his Glock 19 at Allison Parker. Then he turned the weapon on Adam Ward and Vicki Gardner, who was shot in the back after she curled into a fetal position in an attempt to play dead. In total, the shooter fired 15 times. The camera continued to broadcast, capturing agonizing screams from the victims. The gunman fled the scene, leaving behind chaos. The broadcast cut back to the studio where journalists tried to process what they had just witnessed. When police arrived at the scene of the shooting, parker and Ward had already died. An ambulance rushed Gardner to the hospital. She survived after emergency surgery.
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The shooter, vester Lee Flanagan, once worked for WDBJ-7 until the station fired him. Coworkers had complained to the station of feeling threatened or uncomfortable around him. It wasn't the first time a new station fired Flanagan either. Years earlier, another station let him go after he was caught threatening employees and exhibiting bizarre behavior. At 11.14 am, flanagan posted videos of the shooting to his Facebook page. The brutal footage quickly spread across social media. After a five-hour manhunt, investor Lee Flanagan crashed his car, shot himself and died. The video is still circulating online, especially on X. I will not be including any of the video in this episode. Here is more of the backstory. Thanks for joining me on this episode of Human Wreckage True Crime Podcast. Please subscribe.
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On the morning of August 26, 2015, news reporter Allison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward, both employees of CBS affiliate WDBJ in Roanoke, virginia, united States, were fatally shot while conducting a live television interview near Smith Mountain Lake and Moneda. They were interviewing Vicki Gardner, executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce, when all three were attacked by a gunman in a mass shooting. Parker, age 24, and Ward, age 27, died at the scene, while Gardner survived. The gunman was 41-year-old Vester Lee Flanagan Roman II, a former reporter at WDBJ, who had been fired in 2013 for disruptive conduct. After a five-hour manhunt, flanagan shot himself during a car chase with police officers and died later at a hospital.
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At the time of the shooting, allison Parker and Adam Ward were conducting a live interview with Vicki Gardner at Moneda's Bridgewater Plaza about upcoming events for the 50th anniversary of Smith Mountain Lake, 26 miles southeast of Roanoke. The shooting occurred at 6 46 am in the middle of the segment which was broadcast on WDBJ's morning news program. Morning Video of the incident showed Parker conducting the interview. When at least eight gunshots were heard, followed by screams, ward's camera fell to the ground, briefly capturing the image of Flanagan holding a Glock 19.9mm pistol. Wdbj then switched back to morning anchor Kimberly McBroom at the station's news studio, seemingly confused by what had just happened. She later stated that she believed the noises could have been a car backfiring or shots being fired in the background. Parker and Ward died at the scene. Gardner was also shot, but she survived following surgery at Carillion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. According to the state medical examiner's office, parker died from gunshot wounds to her head and chest, while Ward died from shots to his head and torso. Gardner was shot in the back after she curled into a fetal position in an attempt to play dead. A total of 15 shots were fired.
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Staff in the WDBJ newsroom reviewed video of the incident from Ward's fallen camera and identified Flanagan as the likely gunman. They alerted General Manager Jeffrey Marks, who passed the information to the Franklin County Sheriff. Flanagan faxed ABC News at 8.23 am and then phoned shortly after 10.00 am making a confession. During the ensuing manhunt, authorities tracked Flanagan's cell phone to locate him. Flanagan abandoned his Ford Mustang at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport and drove a rented Chevrolet Sonic North on I-81, then East on I-66. An automated license plate reader in a Virginia State Trooper's car identified the rented Sonic at 11.10 am. The trooper called for backup and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Flanagan sped away. His car ran off the side of the road and struck an embankment near Markham. After a pursuit of less than two miles, flanagan was found inside the car with gunshot wounds which were apparently self-inflicted. While he was driving he was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church where he was declared dead at 1.26 pm.
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Adam Lang Ward May 10, 1988, august 26, 2015, was born in Daleville, virginia. He grew up in Salem and graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in communications and media studies in 2011. He had worked at the station since July 2011 as a videographer as well as an occasional sports reporter. Dickie Gardner is originally from Union Springs, new York, and had been the executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce from 22 until 2019. She underwent surgery in which her right kidney and part of her colon were removed and was released from the hospital on September 8, 2015.
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Bester Lee Flanagan Roman II, october 8, 1973, august 26, 2015, was known by the professional name Bryce Williams and was a native of Oakland, california. He graduated from Skyline High School and attended San Francisco State University, earning a degree in radio and television in 1995. He interned at CBS affiliate Capex TV in San Francisco in 1993, eventually working there as a production assistant and weekend news writer. He had also been a small-time actor and model. Before beginning his career in journalism, flanagan worked as a general assignment news reporter at CBS affiliate WTOK-TV in Savannah, georgia, from February 1997 to March 1999.
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Between March 1999 and March 2000, he worked as a reporter for NBC affiliate WTWC-TV in Tallahassee, florida, where he reported to news director Don Schaefer that co-workers were making offensive comments about his sexual orientation. In an interview with the Daily Mail, former WTWC sports reporter Dave Lovell claimed that Flanagan verbally abused two female staffers at the station on different occasions after they pointed out mistakes in his reporting and that several photographers had tried to get out of working on stories to which Flanagan was assigned due to his diva behavior. Flanagan lost his job due to odd behavior in March 2000. He filed a civil lawsuit against WTWC alleging racial discrimination as he was African American. The lawsuit was settled under unspecified terms in January 2001. Wtwc's owner, sinclair Broadcast Group, had shut down all the station's news operations in November 2000 due to poor ratings and budget reductions. Flanagan worked for CBS affiliate WNCT-TV in Greenville, north Carolina, from 2002 to 2004. He also found some work at ABC affiliate KMID in Midland, texas.
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Wdbj announced on April 19, 2012, that they hired Flanagan as a multimedia journalist under the professional name Bryce Williams. Documents relating to his time at WDBJ suggest that the station's management considered him an experienced reporter, but there were conflicts with other reporters and with photographers. Office memos from WDBJ showed that news director Dan Dennison ordered Flanagan to contact Health Advocate in July 2012 after receiving complaints that co-workers were feeling threatened or uncomfortable while working with him. It is unclear whether he did so prior to his dismissal. Wdbj dismissed Flanagan on February 1, 2013, citing his volatile behavior. According to a former colleague, upon learning of his dismissal, flanagan lashed out at newsroom staffers, resulting in the staffers being put in a room while police escorted him out of the building. Ward allegedly recorded Flanagan as he was escorted out and the two men had a confrontation earlier that day. Flanagan allegedly threw a wooden cross at Denison saying you need this. Wdbj provided security to the staffers for a time after the incident and directed them to call the police if he ever returned to the station.
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Flanagan filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EOC against WDBJ, alleging racial discrimination, in which he allegedly named Parker. The EOC investigated then dismissed the complaint as uncorroborated. In Flanagan's suicide note, he wrote that he had killed both of his cats out of rage. After his firing, flanagan got a job at a local United Health Group call center. After his dismissal, he had a confrontation with a female employee who casually pointed out how quiet he was being, to which he responded aggressively, telling her to never talk to him again. One of Flanagan's neighbors in his apartment complex described him as an arrogant person who acted rudely towards people around him. He was noted for sometimes throwing cat feces at the homes of neighbors with whom he had disputes.
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Flanagan maintained accounts on Facebook and Twitter that were suspended after he was named as a suspect in the shooting. He repeated his claims of racial discrimination by WDBJ on both profiles, specifically naming Parker and Ward. He claimed that Parker had made a coded racist remark during her internship at WDBJ regarding a friend of Flanagan's and that Ward had filed a complaint against him to the station's human resources department after working with him on one occasion. At 11.14 am on the day of the shooting, flanagan uploaded a 56-second telephone camera video to his Twitter and Facebook accounts before they were suspended. Shot from a first-person perspective of the incident, the video shows Flanagan walking up to the scene of the interview and brandishing a handgun for approximately 15 seconds without Ward, parker or Gardner noticing. Gardner later said that she had been blinded by the television lighting. Flanagan mutters bitch while pointing the weapon at Parker and lowers the gun before raising it again and opening fire directly at her. Parker flinches and screams before attempting to escape the attack, and the light of Ward's camera is seen quickly dropping before Flanagan pulls away the camera and shuts it off.
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Abc News received a 23-page fax at 8.26 am, allegedly sent by Flanagan, titled Suicide Note for Friend and Family. Flanagan described his grievances over what he alleged to be racial discrimination and sexual harassment committed by black men and white women in his workplace, believing that he was targeted because he was a homosexual black man. He claimed to have been provoked by the Charleston church shooting two months before and made threatening comments about Dylan Roof, the perpetrator of that crime. Flanagan described the church shooting as a tipping point, saying that his anger had been building steadily and describing himself as a human powder keg just waiting to go boom. A spokesman for the Franklin County Sheriff's Office said that Flanagan very closely identified with individuals who have committed domestic acts of violence and mass murder, as well as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US.
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Flanagan said that Jehovah had told him to act and expressed an admiration for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who perpetrated the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, and Xiong Hui Cho, the perpetrator of the 27 Virginia Tech shooting. Flanagan said in the note yeah, I'm all fucked up in the head. After Flanagan's death, officers searched his rental car. They found various items, including a Glock pistol with several magazines and ammunition, a cell phone, letters notes, a to-do list, a suitcase containing three license plates and several disguises, including a wig. Thank you for joining me on another episode of Human Wreckage A very messed up story. Please take care of yourselves. See you next time.