A day after the grim Virginia shooting of WDBJ TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward while having a live interview with executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, Vicki Gardner, triggerman Vester Flanagan/Bryce Williams' character and personality was put into question. Was he mentally unstable? What was going on inside the killer's mind that pushed him to commit the murders?
CNN reported that Flanagan deliberately choreographed the shooting of the two WDBJ employee for an utmost shock value. Items found in his rental car revealed that he had also meticulously taken steps for his getaway.
Flanagan's Chevrolet Sonic gave clues about his plans after committing the murders. Police discovered a wig, a shawl, a black hat, sunglasses and a to-do list. Three license plates were also found inside the car which he rented weeks before his premeditated crime.
A trooper from the Virginia State Police tried to make Flanagan stop the car when he was spotted on Interstate 66, but instead of pulling over he sped up and crashed into an embankment. He was later found with a self-inflicted wound coming from a gunshot inside the car.
A dig into the past showed that Vester Flanagan was a disgruntled employee who had a beef with the network. Flanagan jumped around from varied news stations, finally getting a job at Virginia's WDBJ in 2012. During the course of his stay at the station, he had created tension with many colleagues and was later referred to the company's assistance program for employees.
WDBJ's general manager Jeff Marks said, "We made it mandatory that he seek help from our employee assistance program. Many companies have them. They provide counseling and other services and we made it mandatory that he do that."
In February 2013, he handed a miniature wooden cross to his manager when he was fired from the station while saying, "You'll need this."
Meanwhile, Daily Mail gave details about what investigators found in Vester Flanagan's apartment. On a tour inside where he lived just a couple of blocks away from WDBJ offices, the apartment was sparse of furniture and colors. The only thing that stood out was his pictures when he was younger and leaner and images of him as a reporter plastered on his fridge which may reveal his narcissistic nature alongside with his rigid belief system. The candles inside the bathroom was the only burst of colors found in the apartment.
On the other end, victim Alison Parker's boyfriend, Chris Hurst, said that it's not enough to remember the lives lost, as per CNN.
"There needs to be some action that is taken out of an event like this -- out of an event like Sandy Hook, like Charleston, like Aurora, Colorado... where these things just don't occur anymore."
"We need to have a substantive conversation on what is going on in America that is allowing evil to continue to crop up over love? Is it because we are in the media? And the attacker knew this was going to get a lot of play, and here we are again, another mushroom cloud of coverage over gun violence?"
One can only hope that this problem with people who are probably not mentally stable and yet has access to guns may be solved.
