Flanagan was flown from the scene to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he died." "It was only a minute or two later that the Sonic ran off the road into the median.
The driver of the Sonic – Vester Flanagan, also known as Bryce Williams, refused to stop and sped away from the trooper," Overton said. this morning, Virginia State Police Trooper Pam Neff was on patrol and attempted to stop the vehicle. Police told CBS2 Flanagan fled the scene after the shooting and switched cars before shooting himself while driving. Social media sites moved fast to take the postings down. The Facebook and Twitter accounts have since been suspended. The posts also included accusations of racism against the reporter and conflict with the cameraman. Someone using the name Bryce Williams posted video on social media that appears to show the actual shooting from the perspective of the gunman. Flanagan was black and had formerly complained about racial bias at the station. Officials said they don't yet know a motive, and authorities said they don't know if the shooting was racially motivated.
WDBJ was the last stop in a series of brief TV stints for Flanagan, 41 – in Odessa, Texas Savannah and Tallahassee before finally working in Roanoke. We will of course let you know as soon as we find out what those sounds were from.'' The station then switches back to a shot of an anchor back at the station, who appears shocked and says, "OK, not sure what happened there. Parker screams, runs and can be heard saying, "Oh my God!'' This man was captured on video during the shooting of WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. The video of the incident that was broadcast live shows Parker smiling during the interview when suddenly at least eight shots ring out. Parker was in the middle of a live interview for a feature story at the time of the shooting. The reporter focused on her live interview at 6:46 a.m., while the cameraman focused on the viewfinder. The killer apparently knew his victims would not see him coming. while conducting an interview at the Bridgewater Plaza shopping mall in Moneta, said the station's general manager, Jeffrey A. This article has been adapted from its original source.As CBS2's Lou Young reported from Roanoke, candles burned late Wednesday at the TV station the killer apparently wanted to punish.Īlison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, 27, of WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, were shot and killed shortly after 6:45 a.m.
It was amid the protests in Basra that Mr Samad and Mr Ghali were shot in their car. Large demonstrations also were held in Basra, Dhi Qar, Najaf and Diwanieh provinces as the movement seeks to regain momentum after regional tensions overshadowed the uprising. Thousands massed in Baghdad's Tahrir square, the epicenter of the protest movement, and many chanted 'Damn Iran and America!' and Iran in demonstrations across the capital and in the southern provinces. Protesters criticised the ongoing crisis involving Iraq, the U.S. Kurdish security forces have benefited from U.S. presence as a bulwark against domination by the majority Shiites and Iran.
Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers, who oppose the Parliament resolution, see the U.S. The demand for a troop withdrawal is not universal among Iraqis.
The current waiver expires in February, and without a new one, Iraq could face severe financial penalties. Iraq is highly dependent on Iran sanctions waivers from Washington to continue importing Iranian gas to meet electricity demands, and the U.S. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of its resurgence during the political turmoil. troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counterparts to fight IS.
The US State Department bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to 'recommit' to their partnership. It comes as Iraq's caretaker prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, asked Washington to set a strategy for American troops withdrawal on Friday. Hundreds gathered in the streets to mourn the loss of the journalist and cameraman on Saturday amid angry anti-regime demonstrations which have been going on for months.įactions within Iraq's security forces, mostly Iran-backed militia, have been accused of killing some 500 protesters since the unrest started, with another 19,000 wounded. The statement added that it was the Iraqi government's responsibility to uphold 'the right to freedom of expression, protecting journalists, and ensuring that peaceful activists can practice their democratic rights without fear of reprisal.' The US Embassy said it 'strongly denounced the deplorable and cowardly assassination.'