it was supposed to be a feature story at smith mountain lake there celebrating their upcoming 50th anniversary of actually fill up the lake because it is a man made lake and they were interviewing vicki gardner, she's with the smith mountain lake chamber of commerce and that's when someone started at shooting at them. we now know who the suspect is and that is vester lee flanagan, a former employee at wdbj 7, also known as bryce williams on the air. this is the video you're seeing after the shooting happened. they were looking for him. they had a lot of agencies on hand to help them, local, state, and federal and, again it does seem that they have appeared to have found him and as we were just told, vester lee flanagan, also known as bryce williams on the air, is still alive at this moment. he still has a pulse and of course we'll continue to get you as much information as we can as soon as we can. >> when you see these reporters in the morning newscast and kimberly mcbroom can tell you, alison does multiple live shots from one location throughout the 5:00 to 7:00 hour. >> exactly. >> so you'r

junto a las vctimas se encontraba la directora ejecutiva de la cmara regional de comercio de "smith mountain lakeuien recibi un disparo en la espalda y se encuentra en cirugia. take vo ---las autoridades de virginia dijeron que ya conocian el nombre del atacante y las placas de identificacin de su vehculo... mientras lo buscaban, descubrieron que est herido de bala, su condicin de salud es grave. ---lo que ms ha sorprendido es la identidad del responsable... "vester flanagan", quien trabaj en la estacin de televisin con las dos personas que asesin. ---l fue reportero... conocido al aire como "bryce williams"... take vo ---las autoridades dicen que no saben el motivo... pero que estn haciendo todo lo posible para esclarecer lo ocurrido. facebook katherine katherine ---flanagan era de oakland... estudi radio y televisin en la universidad estatal de san francisco, se gradu en 1995... trabaj en una estacin de noticias de esa ciudad... al parecer, algunos miembros de su familia viven en el este de la baha. lorena ---caterine, la comunidad muy sorprendida por el comportamiento del hombre identificado c

it was supposed to be a feature story at smith mountain lake celebrating their upcoming 50th anniversary of actually filling up the lake, because it is a man made lake, and they were interviewing vicki gardner. she's with the smith mountain lake chamber of commerce. and that, unfortunately, is when someone started shooting at them and now we do know who that suspect is and that is vester lee flanagan, a former employee here at wdbj 7. also known as bryce williams on the air. this is the video you're seeing now of the scene, you know, after the shooting had happened. they were actively looking for him. they had a lot of agencies on hand to help them, local, state and federal. and again, it does seem that they have appeared to have found him. as we were just told, vester lee flanagan, also known as bryce williams on the air, is still alive at this moment. he still has a pulse. of course we're going to continue to get you as much information as we can as soon as we can. >> and when you see these reporters in the morning newscasts and kimberly mcbroom can tell you, alison does multiple live

peggy fox is live at smith mountain lake where this horrific incident happened. we understand the suspect was recently fired by the tv station where the victims worked of. >> reporter: that's right. vester lee flanagan had been an on air reporter using the name bryce williams on air. he was recently fired by wdbj. you can see the wdbj live truck right where that crew left it before they were ambushed and killed live on the air. >> it has really stopped me in my tracks this morning. like many viewers i was watching. >> reporter: frank overton knew the two journalists shot and killed while doing a morning live shot today. reporter alison parker and photographer adam ward worked together every morning. >> i actually did a remote with ms. parker and adam about three weeks ago. >> reporter: police say the man who opened fire on them. vester lee flanagan also knew them. he was recently fired from the wdbj. >> the gentleman thinks that things tran spired and spiraling out of control. >> reporter: after the shooting flanagan fled the scene. in the aftermath he posted a v

almost to the minute at this time yesterday, that news crew was going live from smith mountain lake in virginia. >> nbc's hallie jackson joins us live from there, the scene that started to unfold 24 hours ago. >> reporter: good morning, guys. yeah, wdbj 7 is back on the air today. reporters from the sister station in missouri have actually travelled out to do some of the reporting, to do some of the live shots to allow the staffers, the folks, to grieve and mourn the loss of their two colleagues. here at the scene overnight, we saw the live truck that broadcasts the shootings be taken away by some visibly emotional wdbj employees. the employees continue to investigate and we're learning new details about the shooter in this case. the former reporter at the station, vester flanagan known on air as bryce williams. court documents obtained by nbc news are shedding new light on what happened the day that he was fired. we'll have all that coming up on the "today" show, guys. >> hallie jackson live for us in smith mountain lake, thank you. >>> a third victim of the shooting has survived. vic

she is executive director of that area, smith mountain lake regional chamber about commerce. you mentioned water there. there is actually a water park there on the scene. so, this is a light feature type story. these two individuals went to go cover. definitely not a situation as you mentioned, you've been in the middle of war zones. that is where this possibly could happen. this should not happen at a scene like this. >> reporter: well, that is something that law enforcement will no doubt be looking at very closely. why would these two have been targeted? was there some personal beef between the shooter and the photographer or the reporter? was there some history there that needs to be examined? or was this simply a random act? heather: rick, i wanted to ask you one more question about the fbi being on the scene. if you could talk a little bit more about that why they would be on the scene? we got word short time ago, nypd in new york city is picking up security around television stations here. >> reporter: they're stepping up police presence. nypd confirming stepping up pol

our wdbj morning crew was live at smith mountain lake when shots were fired at 6:45. our general manager and wdbj 7 vice president jeff marks is here to tell us more about what happened. >> it is my very, very sad duty to report that we have determined, through the help of the police and our employees, that alison and adam died this morning shortly after 6:45 when the shots rang out. i cannot tell you how much they were loved. alison and adam, by the wdbj 7 team. >>> killer has been identified as a former reporter of the station. his on air name was bryce williams. he had been dismissed two years prior. soon after he started tweeting about his act, uploading his own video of the shooting. he was tracked down in part through the use of a license plate reader. the police attempted to pull him over in northern virginia. he later crashed. officials indicating he may have shot himself in the head while driving and later died. prior to that, approximately two hours after the shooting, abc news received a 23-page fax. from a man claiming to be claiming the charleston south c

peggy fox is live at smith mountain lake where this horrific incident happened.rstand the suspect was recently fired by the tv station where the victims worked of. >> reporter: that's right. vester lee flanagan had been an on air reporter using the name bryce williams on air. he was recently fired by wdbj. you can see the wdbj live truck right where that crew left it before they were ambushed and killed live on the air. >> it has really stopped me in my tracks this morning. like many viewers i was watching. >> reporter: frank overton knew the two journalists shot and killed while doing a morning live shot today. reporter alison parker and photographer adam ward worked together every morning. >> i actually did a remote with ms.

this is the plaza, a scenic place that overlooked smith mountain lake. the sheriff, we just heard from him a short time ago, the sheriff in franklin county, pointing out how close knit a community this s he recently done a similar live interview with the reporter alison parker and photographer, adam ward. like many here, he watched live as that disturbing attack played out. reporter, alison parker, conducting that live interview on the plaza here which overlooks smith mountain like. it was a light-hearted, supposed to be a feature story. it took a deadly turn, former wdvj 7 employee, vester lee flanagan, colleagues describe as disgruntled, opened fire. >> wdvj-tv news crew was conducting a live interview with ms. gardner when remember is lee flanagan, ii, age 41, of roanoke, suddenly appeared and approached them and started shooting. alison parker, age 24, and adam ward, age 27, died at the scene. both parker and ward were residents of roanoke, virginia. let us not forget, they grew up in this area, part of our community. >> reporter: the person they wer

kimberly: not during a beautiful day on smith mountain lake.t was a feature, supposed to be a happy day. it ends in tragedy. our team coverage of the on-air ambush continues at 6:00 with jeff goldberg and brad bell in moneta and jay korff at inova fairfax hospital. leon: all right. you are in our hearts, wdbj. now in the midst of the days of breaking news our colleague maureen bunyan had an opportunity to speak with president obama one-on-one. she joins us now live from the white house with the second part of her interview. maureen? maureen: this is an interesting story. a complicated story. first of all, the president does not need to get congressional approval of the iran nuclear deal. however, congress could derail a deal and force a rare presidential veto. the president doesn't want that. that is why he told me this afternoon he is going to spend the next three weeks assuring and reassuring skeptical congressional delegates. president obama: we don't want to have iran get a nuclear weapon. and every credible expert who looked at this says t

she's the executive director of the smith mountain lake chamber of commerce.viewed about that. she was shot in the back, i'm told. she says that vicki gardener is in surgery right now. we don't have any word on her condition. >> what did she do for a living? >> her title was the executive director of the chamber of commerce, promoting the lake. very popular area in this community for people, especially in the summer. we know at the moment she has not died but she has been wounded in the shooting. >> news stations across the country are on edge, especially here in new york city. what can you tell us? >> that extends beyond this community because we do not have a motive yet. police do not have the shooter in custody. we're now learning that the nypd is stepping up security at news stations around the city. that means you could see increased police presence outside of those police stations. this is not unprecedented but it certainly is a reaction to what happened in virginia. no motive to understand why those potentially three people would have been targeted by t

>> vicki gardner is the single greatest champion for smith mountain lake. has been the executive director for 13 years and has done so much for this community. she is vibrant. she is positive. she is a visionary. i had a meeting with her yesterday at 4:00. and unfortunately, it was interrupted by something else of a similar nature but vicki was there dreaming and planning and we were planning of some big things that she has got working. she is a visionary. she is the single greatest champion we have at the lake. we are going to champion for her now. >> it's sort of interesting if you think about it the interview was this morning at 6:25 which meant she probably had to get up at 5:00 in the morning in order to come out. and i mean to talk about this. beautiful lake and all the things that she championed. she had to get out of bed early this morning to come do this. >> this morning she got here at 4:50. >> 4:50? why so early? >> she had two sets. actually there was an earlier recording that she did. and then, what's interesting is it's no coincidence that it

>> it's on smith mountain lake. you would be crossing a hails port bridge, and when you leave the bridge you go into franklin county. the plaza is right there on the left as soon as you pass into franklin county. it's not the first thing of the lake, but it was probably one of the first plazas and places that developed and has been well known throughout the years for people to come to. it's just restaurants and gift shops and such as that, and it's never, you know, been no more than basically just a fun place for people to gather. they have a little putt-putt course on top of one of the dunes where you can play 18 holes of putt-putt. it's just a beautiful setting for the area. it is a rural area. it's mostly all farming. we don't have any big industrial units such as a walmart. you have to go probably 20 miles away in either direction of that to get to a big mall such as that. rural people run it. >> i understand the schools have been shut down, there is no school today? >> i wasn't told the schools shut down. i thi

troy keaton is president of the smith mountain lake regional chamber of commerce and prepared to answer from you, as well. >> let me just begin by saying on behalf of the regional chamber of commerce at smith mountain lake, we send condolences to the families of those suffering today at this tragedy and particularly on behalf of our own executive director vicki gardner, who's an exceptional, bright light in this community. and we stand with her 100% and are praying for her and are thankful that she is in stable condition and is in good hands. her family is with her and her friends are with her and we just want her to know and this community to know that as vicki has been a champion for us for the more than a decade, we'll be a champion for her through this. and we're going do get together as a community and stay together and make it through this. so thank you very much. >> sir, could you spell your name please? >> keaton, first name is -- >> so there we're hearing from troy keaton, president of the smith mountain lake chamber of commerce talking about his colleague vicki gardner wounded

smith mountain lake live on television for a 24-year-old reporter. 27-year-old photographer, just getting their lives and their careers started, to have this happen live was absolutely devastating. of course, the station right away was struggling to find out what happened themselves and it was only afterwards the general manager, as you just heard, had to come on to the station and deliver the awful news. >> thank you for joining us tonight. >> let me say one thing. i'm a reporter, obviously, i've been a reporter my entire adult life so this hits close to home. but through this work i have gotten to work with a lot of camera people and crews. and it is just important to recognize, i think today in this moment, that they are journalists as much as any of us are. they do incredible work. they take incredible risks in incredibly dangerous situations all the time. this was not supposed to be a dangerous situation. every time you see an image from a dangerous place, there is a person holing that camera who is risking their life without the fame and glory that taxes to the people in front of th

this live broadcast on wdbj 7's morning show the two were interviewing vicki gardner about smith mountain lake's 50th anniversary, suddenly, there were gunshots. not showing you what happened next. bill overton, like manies others here, saw it play out live. >> really stopped me in my tracks this morning, like many viewers, i was watching like many viewers, i was watching this morning's broadcast and couldn't understand really what was happening myself. >> reporter: park herbs was described as an ambitious reporter. ward was engaged to a reporter at the station. they were se to move to charlotte where his fee kbraps say had just got an new job.ian just got an new job. >> let us not forget, they grew up in this area, they were part of our community. >> reporter: the woman being interviewed on smith mountain lake is expected to survive, but still in the hospital. dore ryan, get a feel here there is a sense of unsettledness amongst a lot of the reporters talking with them a lot of us who cover the commonwealth, overlap on many stories, see each other, whether here in bedford county or charlottesvil

parker and ward are out on location atop the scenic smith mountain lake for their live report about tourism. >> allison parker is live in bedford county to show us how the lake has grown over the year. good morning, allison. >> good morning. it has grown in so many ways. >> reporter: 6:43 a.m., allison begins interviewing vicki gardner. unbeknownst to them, a predator was lurking. the young journalist at their most vulnerable state focused completely on their interview. there is no warning ach gun inging a gunman with a sneak attack, unloading 17 rounds in all. one after another. the stunned local an con kimberly mcgroom unsure over what just happened. >> i heard this pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. gunshots. >> reporter: the freeze frame caught in the dying cameraman's image. police quickly arrive at the scene but the gunman is long gone. flanagan drives about 25 miles to this fed-ex where he faxes abc news a 23 page manifesto and suicide note. citing the june charleston south carolina church massacre as motive. he writes the church shooting was the tipping point. in his note to abc news, wi

parker and her photographer, adam ward, were conducting a live interview overlooking the scenic smith mountain lake, they were am bushed. we are not showing you the disturbing attack. >> both parker and ward were residents of roanoke, virginia. let us not forget, they grew up in this area, they were part of our community. >> reporter: the woman they were interviewing, vicki gardner, rushed to the hospital, where she remains in stable condition. parker and ward died. colleagues at the roanoke cbs affiliate where they worked, devastated. parker is described as an ambitious reporter. anchor chris hurst tweeted, we were together almost nine months, it was the best nine months of our lives. we wanted to get married. we just celebrate 24erd 4th birthday. ward was engaged to a producer at the station. they were set to move to charlotte, where his fiancee had just got an new job. as you saw in that story, the press conference has reporters from all over the nation, i want to show you here what is going on along the side of the road here. you have just as many reporters, dozens and dozens of reporters here,

colleague at the smith mountain lake region chamber of commerce confirmed gardner was shot in the back although no confirmation exactly how many times she had been shot. local hospital representative tells cnn that she underwent emergency surgery today and is now recovering at that hospital. we also know there are a lot of people here praying for her. we just left a vigil if he bethlehem united methodist church and another vigil happening right now. >> what else do we know about her? >> reporter: well, we know her title she was the executive director of the smith mountain lake regional chamber of commerce. however, people who know hearsay that this is more than just her title, she loves this community. takes every opportunity to promote it. and she is a wife, a mother, a grandmother, an artist here and late this evening, john, we received a statement from her employer there at the chamber of commerce saying they are confident that she will recover and they are going stand strong with her through this. >> good. victor blackwell, down in roanoke, thank you so much. next wdbj's general ma

to the folks at smith mountain lake, dorothy and i had just come back from smith mountain lake. we spent a week there with our five children. we rented our boats from roy and mary at the bridgewater marina so we just want to come here today and say the commonwealth of virginia is grieving but we will be there for you in the future. thank you. >> reporter: as a follow-up on that, does it appear that he did not want to commit suicide -- >> well, as we heard today there was more ammunition in the car, he had more self-addressed envelopes so we clearly can't get into his mind and find out what he was planning to do but obviously there was some bad intentions and i'm just thankful our law enforcement did it in a man nor individuals were hurt. thank you. >>> you're seeing the search inventory list right there as governor terry mccouauliffe of virginia and his wife leave the microphones that were set up outside wdbj the television station outside roanoke where adam ward and alison parker worked before they were gunned down live on television two days ago. the gunman talking about the e

isoutine interview about or a met smith mountain lake. we will not show you what happens next, the ambush isonting of reporter al parker and photographer adam ward on live tv. the interview subject, vicki gardner, was shot in the back and will survive, but the station mix a horrible announcement about its morning team. >> alison and adam died this morning. ward's cameraly, captures this image of the gun an, a formerflanag reporter known on air as bryce williams. he had been fired in 2012 for erratic offensive behavior. >> you can hear people in the newsroom crying. it's just really hard to even comprehend. we cover these things all the time, but it's really tough. flanaganhin hours, begins tweeting, first claims to hr andreported him at per made racist statement's, then the gruesome video of the shooting. he also sent abc news a 23-page to, claiming he was inspired avenge the charleston church shootings and he was a powder can't just waiting to go boom. >> this shows where his mind was the night before. 11:30, the police are in hot pursui

gardner is the executive director of the smith mountain lake regional chamber of commerce. she is now in stable condition after under going emergency surgery. >>> again, a difficult day police say 41-year-old vester lee flanagan who went by bryce williams on the air ambushed a tv crew at a shopping center in virginia. he killed wdbj reporter alibi son parker and photographer adam ward and injured the woman who parker was interviewing. williams was a former reporter at that station. police chased him on a have a is a highway where they say he turn the gun on himself. he later died at the hospital. coming up at 5:15 arc closer look at the role social media is now playing in crimes like these. we'll talk to a psychologist about what happened today and the mind set of the shooter. we of course will continue to stay on top of this story and bring you any updates on our website. just head to myfoxphilly.com and look for the latest right there on the home page. >>> hundreds of pages of documents unsealed by the highest court in pennsylvania. all relating to the criminal charges ag

this is smith mountain lake a resort area. a beautiful area. there is a lake in front of me, a lake behind me. they were talking about the tourism in the area. the head of the chamber of commerce was being interviewed. you saw the camera panning around to the docks and people come here to fish. and it is just the middle of the summer and they were talking about tourism in this area. and just from out of nowhere he comes up behind them and starts shooting. just unbelievable. >> lest bring in pete williams here. i know you have some of the latest information on the suspect's so called manifesto he sent to abc news today. what can you tell us about some of the details in it. >> i think manifesto is a little too grand a term for what he himself describes as a suicide note. but we've been talking about this before. adam talked about it too. let's come back to that in a second ayman. i think an important point to make here is it was basically 4 hours and 45 minutes from the time of the shooting until authorities actually had pulled him over on i-66 ne

i want to thank them and i do want to reach out to the roanoke community, the folks at smith mountain lake. dorothy and i had just come back from smith mountain lake. we had just spent a week there with our five children. we had rented our boats from roy and mary at the bridgewater marina. so we just wanted to come here today and say the common wealth of virginia, we're grieving but i want you to know that we will be there for you in the future. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> does it appear that flanagan -- not to commit suicide, it was to -- >> as we heard today, there was more ammunition in the car. he had more self-addressed envelopes. so, you know, clearly can't get into his mind. and we can't find out exactly what he was planning to do. but obviously there was some bad intentions. i just thankful our law enforcement did it in a manner that no more individual wshs hurt. thank you. >> that was virginia governor terry mcauliffe speaking at wdbj studios in roanoke. that's the tv station who employed the two young journalists shot and killed earlier this week by a former co-worker. mcaulif

local fire truck and a local ambulance, we did drive by that bridgewater plaza on the shores of smith mountain lake, which is where all of this happened this morning, this tragedy happened this morning. and there are a lot of police, there are a lot of investigators there right now. they are trying to figure out what happened that we could not see on camera. and remember, we have now seen this horrible, unspeakable crime from two different camera angles. we've seen the suspected shooter, who approached apparently with a hand gun and a smartphone out as he stalks she is three people who had no idea what was about to happen. they're just talking about local tourism at the end of the summer next to a beautiful lake. we've also seen what turned out to be a critical piece of evidence so far from the fallen local news photographer's camera, adam ward's camera. they were able to get a screen grab of the shooter. you can see his faces, and you can see that he is holding a gun. now, that turned out to be a critical piece of evidence, very tragically. the photographer, adam, and his reporter, alilson were ki

she worked with the tourism for smith mountain lake region. apparently she was being interviewed for very innocuous subject this morninged. that had to do with improving the economy ever the local region. it does not appear the subject matter this morning had anything to do with the shooting that took place and at this time it is not believed what happened was in any way connected to an act of terror. the television station, general manager, took to the air shortly after the shooting to say, quoting him now, jeffrey marks, this has been a terrible crime against two fine journalists. i can not tell you how much they were loved. and lastly, jon, this incident taking place in roanoke, virginia, having implications that extend beyond that region. just a short time ago john miller of the new york city police department, he is the deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence, sent out a statement saying that out of an abundance of caution, the nypd counterterrorism, critical response vehicles and hercules teams have been deployed to tel

county sheriff's office received a 911 call concerning shots fired at bridgewater plaza near smith mountain lake. a wdbj news crew was conducting a live interview at the plaza with ms. gardner when vester lee flanagan ii age 41 of roanoke suddenly appeared and approached them and started shooting. flanagan sent a lengthy multipage fax to a national news organization in new york about this incident, and our investigators now have a copy of it, and it's used in the course of this investigation will be continuing. it's obvious that there was this gentleman was disturbed in some way of the way things had transpired. at some point in his life, it would appear things were spiraling out of control. but we're still looking into that. >> and we're still looking at that fax. abc news has sent the gist of it out, and we'll have more on that with a psychologist in a moment. first let's begin team fox coverage. david lee miller who is following with all of us in horror this morning as it just started popping up on twitter, and you realized this man is somewhere. he is tweeting about what he has just done, an

our job is to cover the soft stories like tourism at smith mountain lake and our mission is also to cover the hard stories like child abuse when we did the one-hour special last week and all those other pieces we did on child abuse. we are committed to the hard stories and the stories that make this area special. and there is no pulling back from that. we go forward. we learn and we go forward. >> so moving forward, part of that is going to be addressing lots of things -- because the newsroom is now intrinsically tied to the story. you're going to have a vigil out here tonight. how difficult does it make it when the newsroom is actually part of the -- [ inaudible ] >> we've been talking about that. >> you know, it's certainly a challenge. but i think our journalists are up for the challenge and they realize that there will be a political side to this as gun control is discussed as part of this. and we will cover this story as we cover any story, we'll report both sides of it and we will do it accurately and fairly. that's really all we can do. they're trained as journalists, they're train

all my friends at smith mountain lake have all been in touch. everybody has been very supportive. my day has been just hectic. >> vicki gardner was shot in the chest. she went through emergency surgery. she's now listed in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery. >>> the shooting of journalists was on the front page about just -- just about every newspaper across the country. while many decided to actually show those chilling pictures leading up to the shooting, some news managers thought it was in poor taste and decided not to show them. social media full of posts on the shooting as well expressing sorrow and outrage. our wusa9 facebook friend ginger brown writes, having lost my only child when she was 21, i feel for the parents. i pray they find comfort in the beautiful lives they lived, the work they did, and the many, many people who they inspired. ed says adam ward had the face of a man i'm sure i'd like. the dude at the end of the bar that everyone wants to buy a beer. elizabeth burn burrley wrote so, so sad, what a waste of talented people who really had so

. >> the manifesto, a [ inaudible ] on the way to smith mountain lake.ou familiar with that incident and was adam the cameraman and do you think that may have made a difference in the location of the shooting? >> i have no idea what the significance of the location of the shooting was. so i can't comment on that. i know that there were a number of incidents he cited. i don't recall that one specifically and i don't recall whether adam was the photographer on that. i do know from everything we've said and we've learned, that vester's behavior annoyed a lot of people in the news station, not just the fophotographer so could have been berated but it was almost certainly in response to something he was doing and i -- i would defend the actions of every person who is in that newsroom when he was here because i saw the way he behaved and, if anything, he -- let me just leave it at that. i saw the way he behaved. yeah, john? >> if we could go back for a second. is there any indication from staff that may have seen this developing, that they even knew that there

smith mountain lake. we know she was involved in a relationship with a coworker, another anchor at that station. as for the camera man, well, he is also familiar to the community. adam ward, his name. 27 years old. he wasn't just behind the camera. on occasion he appeared in front of the camera and we are told when he got that opportunity he loved to go on and tell his stories. he was engaged to the producer of today's morning newscast. the woman who was in the booth running the show and who witnessed this murder. amazingly the crew of this tv station carried on. they actually had to report the deaths of their colleagues, their friends, their loved ones. >> i cannot tell you how much they were loved. alison and adam by the wdbj7 team. >> we are all in a state of shock here. you can hear people behind us in the newsroom crying. it's just really hard. it's really hard to even comprehend. we cover these things all the time. but it's really tough. >> she says we cover these things all the time and hard to tal

morning team fatally shot this morning while out covering a feature story at bridgewater plaza at smith mountain lake. >> the augusta county sheriff's office identified the shooter as reporter vester lee flanigan and worked at the station for about a year. someone using the name posted video of social media that appears to show the actual shooting shot by the gunman himself. the post also includes accusations of racism against the reporter and conflict with the cameraman. >> there were a lot of good things happening for adam and allison. oh, wow she's a rock star. she has really done a wonderful job reporting, filling in and organize, you throw anything from that girl and she could do it. >> parker graduated from james madison university and just moved in with chris anchor chris hurst who tweeted this morning being "she was the most radiant woman i ever met and for some reason she loved her back. she loved her family, parents and her brother. cameraman ward was engaged to producer melissa ott who was in the control room watching at the shooting happened. >> she had gotten another job. >> president an

gardner is a spokesman for smith mountain lake chamber of commerce. she is still in the hospital after having surgery. do stay with cbs 2 for continuing coverage of the news crew killings. we'll bring you more information tonight on the news at 11. >>> in our news, two jetblue passengers are in custody over a fight on a flight from kingston, jamaica. the violence erupted after the airport. police say a female passenger used a small blade to slash another woman, who then pulled out pepper spray. six other passengers were treated for breathing problems. police have charged 61-year- old jean valentine with assault and possession of a weapon. 52-year-old mary cannady is charged with possession of tear gas. >>> new at 6:00, the nypd has created a new task force to patrol times square and that's just the beginning of the city's efforts to stop the spread of aggressive panhandling, costumed characters and other quality of life issues. here's cbs 2 political reporter marcia kramer. >> reporter: the costumed characters and bare chested paints women are about t

gardner is the executive director of the smith mountain lake regional chamber of commerce. she's in stable condition after under going emergency surgery. >>> so again, a difficult day much police say 41-year-old vester lee flanagan who went by bryce williams on the air ambushed tv crew this morning at a shopping center in virginia. he culled reporter alison parker and photographer adam ward and injured the woman who parker was interviewing. williams was a former reporter for that station. police chased him on a virginia highway where they say he turn the gun on himself. he later died at the hospital. we will continue to stay on top of this story and bring you any updates on our website. just head to fox 29.com and look for the latest right there on our home page. >>> to a developing story in mantua two gunman shot a 10-year-old girl at a play ground. she is one of three people injured in that shooting. it happened near a corner story at 39th popular. police are after the two men who sprayed the busy neighborhood block with more than 20 bullets. >> these guys, they don't hav

. >> this morning, she had to get up a little extra early to go to smith mountain lake.e her breakfast. i made her lunch. i sent her on her way. and the next thing i knew, i wake up to phone calls from the station a little after 7:00 telling me that there had been a shooting that happened live on television, and that i needed to come to the station. >> as investigators search for answers, families and colleagues mourn. >> dave wagner joins us live from moneta, virginia with more on that. dave? >> yeah, jim and doreen, the community really is mourning tonight. 16 hours after the shootings, the tv live truck that has been surrounded by police tape all day long has finally been moved. that is a sad and surreal crime. it played out on social media and live tv as well. like many tv stations, the staff very close at the cbs affiliate here. allison parker is 24 years old. adam ward 27 years old. adam was engaged to the morning producer, and she in fact watched her fiancee get killed on live tv, trying desperately to reach him by phone there. he died as did alison parker. alison

chamber of commerce president at smith mountain lake.much more at the 1:00 hour. >> the chairwoman has been upgraded, her condition has been upgraded to stable condition. she was previously listedn critical, so that is a great update. the search for the shooter is over. he is in custody. there were initial reports he had shot and killed himself. we understand he shot himself, but we understand he is still alive and in police custody. a press conference coming up at 1:00. we will bring it to you live here on abc 7. thank you for joining us this noon. wow. this thank you .ectacular. we worked with a designer from havertys for a complete refresh. you must be happy to get out of that tiny house? yeah you know when we realized how great the furniture could be, we knew we wanted more space. how mu more space? we went from a hundred square feet to... three thousand! (whispers) three thousand! we sti have the original strucre. she uses it as a yoga studio. it's more like a tool shed. refresh your space with an extra one-hundred dollars off every

. >> our wdbj 7 crew was live in morning at smith mountain lake when shots were fired around 6:45. our general manager and wdbj 7 vice-president jeff marks is here. >> reporter: then this solemn announcement. >> alison and adam died this morning shortly after 6:45 when the shots rang out. >> reporter: the two dead, 24-year-old alison parker, the reporter conducting the interview, and the man behind the camera, 27-year-old adam ward. the woman interviewed, vicki gardener, shot in the back and rushed to the hospital. the shooter on the loose. the police chasing the suspect. >> we know who the suspect is. we believe it's a disgruntled employee from the tv station. >> reporter: then another surprise. this on social media. a person going by bryce williams tweeting i filmed the shooting, see facebook. the same account also mentioning the victims by name. complaining about their treatment of him at work. that facebook account now deleted. >> vester flanagan, wtoc news. >> bryce williams, a professional name for vester lee flanagan, up until about two years ago, an on-air reporter at had s

we are teaching miss vicky gardner with the smith mountain lake regional chamber of commerce in our thoughts prayers as she continues to undergo treatment from injuries sustained in the shooting. i also want to thank the residents of franklin and bedford counties for their support and vigilance this morning as we conducted our search efforts and response in relations to this incident. the tips and information that came in from our local residents and across the commonwealth have been extremely helpful over the course of the past seven hours. the quick response of this investigation and resolution are due to the dedicate and quick efforts of our public safety partners with the bedford county sheriff's office, the virginia state police, roanoke city police department, atf, u.s. marshal service, the fbi, the virginia department of emergency management and the rocky mountain police department. i can't begin to thank those agencies and their personnel enough for their efforts. at 6:43 a.m. today the franklin county sheriff's office received a 911 call concerning shots fired at bridgewater plaza n

gardner is executive director of the smith mountain lake regional chamber of commerce. the ward calls her a bright light in the community and everybody in town they say is pulling for her full recovery. >> tonight we've heard from president barack obama on the attack. the president called the shootings heartbreaking. >> gun violence is in the environment in this country every single day and some of this violence can't be prevented, but a whole lot of it can if we are doing a better job of making sure that people who have problems, people who shouldn't have guns don't have them. >> tonight the atf says that vester flanagan did purchase the gun he used legally. it's just not clear yet where he bought it. >>> virginia governor terry mcauliffe also called for increased gun restrictions. in a radio appearance today mcauliffe talked about his state's horrible history with mass shootings including the virginia tech massacre which killed 32 people in 2007. mcauliffe noted the state's gun control laws actually got weaker after that attack. >> it just breaks your heart and you th

. >> our morning crew was live this morning at smith mountain lake when shots were fired around 6:45. our general manager and wdbj 7 vice-president jeff marks is here. >> reporter: then this solemn announcement. >> alison and adam died this morning shortly after 6:45 when the shots rang out. >> reporter: the two dead, 24-year-old alison parker, the reporter conducting the interview, and the man behind the camera, 27-year-old adam ward. the woman interviewed, vicki gardener, shot in the back and rushed to the hospital. the shooter on the loose. the police chasing the suspect. local schools on lockdown. then just past 10:00 a.m., the virginia governor takes to the air waves with this stunning announcement. >> we know who the suspect is. we believe it's a disgruntled employee from the tv station. >> reporter: then another surprise. this on social media. a person going by bryce williams tweeting, i filmed the shooting. see facebook. the same account also mentioning the victims by name, complaining about their treatment of him at work, that facebook account now deleted. >> vester flanagan,

. >> parker was interviewing gardner for a feature on smith mountain lake.he is in charge of the chamber of commerce there. >> a gun show in roanoke is now the center of controversy because of this shooting. it was scheduled for this weekend. there is a petition going around to cancel it. it has about 290 signatures right now. organizers are asking the roanoke center to cancel out of respect for parker and ward. they say it would show an immense disrespect for the victims as well as their family and friends. >> a man in louisiana shot and killed a police officer with the officer's own gun. they also say the men were cousins according to police in sunset, louisiana. they stabbed three people before that even happened. one of those victims died as well. the others are in serious and critical condition right now. they say the attacker drove away and crashed into a convenience store after the shooting. he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. >> the city of baltimore preparing for court cases working with law enforcement agencies across the state. i

i'm joined by the chairman of the smith mountain lake regional chamber of commerce, also the spokesmanhe gardener family. thank you for being with me. vicki's husband told our chris cuomo she has a long recovery period ahead. i'm wondering what that looks like. >> any time you are shot and your internal organs are damaged, as hers were, it's a long road to recovery. we are very optimistic. yesterday was a very good day. she had a second sunrgery in th morning. in the afternoon they were able to take her out of her medically induced coma. she was awake and speaking. an encouraging day for the gardener family. >> what did she say? >> from what i received from the family, she is very lucid and vivid in her memory of what happened. i understand the first communication that she had with them was in regards to alison and adam and her concern and condolences about them, because she understood, i think, when it happened what had happened. and she remembers that. and she was expressing her concern and regret and sadness over that. she's also learning of the size and the magnitude of this story,