Early this morning, Alison Parker and Adam Ward were shot and killed while broadcasting a live news report for WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia.
The man responsible for the shooting, Vester Lee Flanagan, fled the scene, but shot himself while being pursued by police just hours later.
Despite the severity of his self-inflicted wound, Flanagan is still alive and is reportedly in critical condition at an unspecified Virginia hospital.
Shortly after the shooting, several sources claimed that Flanagan had faxed a disturbing 23-page manifesto to his former employers at WDBJ, detailing his various grievances with the network, and with the world in general.
Now, for the first time, portions of the document are being made public, and the excerpts that have been released thus far paint a chilling portrait of a man who claims he was pushed to the edge by homophobia and racial discrimination.
In a part of the document that Flanagan labels “Suicide Note for Friends and Family," the 41-year-old former multimedia reporter explains that he was "sent over the top" by the Charleston church shooting that took place in June.
He also claims that he was a victim of "racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work."
Flanagan says he was "attacked" by black men and white females as a result of his race and sexual orientation.
“Yes, it will sound like I am angry…I am," Flanagan writes at one point. "And I have every right to be. But when I leave this Earth, the only emotion I want to feel is peace.
“The church shooting was the tipping point…but my anger has been building steadily…I’ve been a human powder keg for a while…just waiting to go BOOM!!!!”
In tweets that he posted before shooting himself, Flanagan stated that he had been discriminated against by both Parker and Ward.
Those closest to Flanagan have yet to issue a statement in response to today’s tragedy.
Story developing…
