The Latest: Police had contact with killer after firing

The Latest: Police had contact with killer after firing


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Estimated read time: 13-14 minutes

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ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — The latest on the on-air killing of two TV station employees in Virginia (all times local):

6:45 p.m.

Roanoke police had direct contact with on-air shooting gunman Vester Flanagan at least twice after escorting him from the WDBJ-TV station following his firing in February 2013.

Department spokesman Scott Leamon said Friday officers went to Flanagan's apartment about a year later at the request of a friend in Atlanta who feared for his well-being. Flanagan assured the officers he was OK.

Last December, police questioned Flanagan after he asked his bank to refund money he said had been withdrawn from his account through unauthorized ATM transactions. Leamon says police considered Flanagan a person of interest but didn't find enough evidence to charge anyone. The money was refunded.

Leamon says the police department will conduct a review of its dealings with Flanagan in response to his fatal shooting Wednesday of two WDBJ journalists.

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The boyfriend of the slain TV reporter Alison Parker says he had just given her a promise ring just days before she was killed.

WDBJ-TV anchor Chris Hurst says he gave Parker a black onyx ring with some diamonds for her birthday and told her they would save up for an engagement ring and be together forever.

He said on the morning she was killed, they exchanged several texts as she arrived at work and went to bed after his night shift.

"'You need to go to bed,'" she texted. "And she sent me some kisses, and emoji, and said, 'Good night, sweet boy' at 3:26 a.m. And that was the last I ever heard from her."

He said Parker will be cremated and her ashes will be spread on the Nantahala River in North Carolina, where she loved to kayak.

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6:15 p.m.

A search warrant says authorities seized documents, vehicle keys, written notes and pictures from Vester Flanagan's apartment.

The affidavit requesting the warrant says WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward died at the scene of Wednesday's shooting on the deck at Bridgewater Plaza. The affidavit also says Dave Seidel, who is the assignment editor at WDBJ, told Virginia State Police that the gunman was Flanagan after reviewing video of the shooting, which occurred live on television.

After Flanagan wrecked his vehicle on Interstate 66 and shot himself, a Franklin County Sheriff's Office investigator ran a Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles record on Flanagan to identify his address. A leasing agent at West Winds Apartments later confirmed to authorities that Flanagan lived there.

The search warrant inventory does not provide any details about what the documents, notes and pictures from the apartment entailed.

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The husband of the wounded survivor of the on-air killings near Roanoke, Virginia, says she never saw the gunman approach.

Tim Gardner said Friday that his wife Vicki told him a bright light from Adam Ward's video camera prevented her from seeing Vester Flanagan walk up behind Ward and WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker. They were doing the live, early-morning interview near Smith Mountain Lake, where Vicki Gardner is executive director of the chamber of commerce.

Tim Gardner says Vicki told him that after Parker and Ward were shot, the gun was pointed at her head, so she dropped to the ground. That's when she was hit in the lower right back.

Tim Gardner says that when paramedics arrived, his wife walked to the ambulance.

She awoke Thursday from two rounds of surgery. Doctors removed a damaged kidney and part of her colon.

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4:40 p.m.

The father of slain TV reporter Alison Parker says he thinks he will have to buy a gun now that he has decided to be an outspoken advocate for tougher gun laws.

Adam Parker made the remarks Friday outside the station where his daughter worked. He said he currently doesn't own a gun, but believes he will now have to buy one because his mission will be tougher gun laws.

He says background checks should be done on people who buy weapons at gun shows.

Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed by Vester Flanagan earlier this week.

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Police say the man who fatally shot a television reporter and cameraman fired 17 shots from a Glock pistol.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office also said Friday that writings and evidence seized from Vester Flanagan's apartment showed the man "closely identified" with people who have committed mass murders, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The release said police recovered two Glock handguns from Flanagan's rental car, but no other guns were recovered at other locations.

Flanagan killed himself after the Wednesday slayings of Alison Parker and Adam Ward. Police say Flanagan was not wearing body armor when he was apprehended, but they are still investigating whether we was wearing any protective clothing during the shooting.

Investigators believe Flanagan acted alone and shared his plans with no one, and he left no indication of what his plans were after he fled the shooting scene.

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4:20 p.m.

The boyfriend of slain reporter Alison Parker says she had gone on an assignment the former co-worker who killed her and felt uncomfortable around him.

Chris Hurst said Friday that Parker and Vester Flanagan, who used to work at WDBJ-TV, were on an assignment together when Parker remarked that her friend lived on "Cotton Hill Road." Parker said Flanagan accused her of pointing out the word for racial reasons.

Hurst is an anchor at WDBJ-TV. Flanagan was fired from the station in 2013 for poor performance and confrontations with co-workers. He accused the station of racial discrimination in a lawsuit that was later dismissed.

Flanagan killed Parker and cameraman Adam Ward on live TV earlier this week.

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2:40 p.m.

The father of slain TV reporter Alison Parker says he will make it his mission to try to change gun laws.

Andy Parker said outside of WDBJ-TV on Friday that he supports stronger gun laws and says people at gun shows should have to a background check before they can make purchases.

He says he has talked with Gov. Terry McAuliffe about gun laws, but was disappointed that he hadn't heard from Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.

Parker says he doesn't own a gun, but he believes he will have to buy one now that he is going to be a public advocate for stronger gun laws.

He says politicians need to stand up to the NRA and that his daughter's murder will not be in vain. Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were gunned down by a former colleague on Wednesday.

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1:20 p.m.

When the survivor of the on-air TV shooting awoke from surgery Thursday, her first communication with her family was concern for the families of the two slain journalists.

That's according to Vicki Gardner's boss, Troy Keaton. He said Friday that Gardner expressed condolences to the families of WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward.

They were killed by a former employee of the station Wednesday as they interviewed Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber Chairman Troy Keaton says Gardner continues to improve.

Gardner lost a kidney and part off her colon from being shot in the back by Vester Flanagan. Flanagan later took his own life.

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1 p.m.

Authorities say they have no indication that anyone was helped the former reporter who killed two ex-colleagues on live TV earlier this week.

Lt. Phillip Young, spokesman for the Franklin County sheriff, said Friday that they have no indication that anyone was helping Vester Flanagan, but they are continuing to investigate until they can conclusively rule out that possibility.

Citing the ongoing investigation, he declined to answer specific questions about the evidence in the case.

"We still have to keep as much as we can as close as we can," he said.

Flanagan killed TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward on Wednesday morning. He died later of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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12:50 p.m.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe says he has visited WDBJ-TV to lend his support and give condolences to the employees there.

McAuliffe visited Friday and spoke to the media outside of the station. He talked about his support for universal background checks for gun purchases and said "there are too many guns in America."

But McAuliffe, himself a gun owner, also says the gunman who killed to TV station employees had passed a background check.

McAuliffe said he had spoken to the father of slain TV reporter Alison Parker and he also wants to help advocate for better background checks.

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11:30 a.m.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has arrived at WDBJ-TV studios in Roanoke to talk to the staff in private after two journalists were killed on air by a former co-worker.

The Friday visit comes two days after the attack during a live broadcast. Reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed.

McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy the governor will "visit with staff and share condolences. "

Station general manager Jeffrey Marks says he plans to ask the governor about mental health issues. He was not specific about what questions or remarks he might pose to McAuliffe.

The visit and talks are not open to other news media outlets and will not be broadcast on WDBJ. The station has been airing news and reaction about the attack since it occurred two days ago. Several hours after the attack, gunman Vester Lee Flanagan II died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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9:35 a.m.

The shopping plaza where two journalists were killed during an on-air interview is reopening, two days after the attack.

On Friday morning at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Virginia, Gifts Ahoy opened its doors. Manager Lesley Kocsis and another employee unloaded handbags and put merchandise on shelves.

Kocsis says: "It's very bittersweet, but we are glad to be back."

Kocsis says she saw the shooting on live TV Wednesday, about an hour before she normally comes in to work. She told employees to sit tight and not come in and then stayed home herself, close to the TV to follow the news.

She says: "It's cliche, but things like that don't happen here."

She also it will take time to for the community to process what happened, but they will bolster one another.

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8:55 a.m.

A coffee shop at the plaza where two journalists were killed during a live broadcast has become the shopping center's first business to reopen its doors after the attack.

Mikey Monaghan and her husband, Patrick, say they had reservations about going to CJ's Coffee and Sandwich Shop on Friday morning because they wanted to be respectful. But then they decided that the community and its businesses needed support.

Mikey Monaghan stopped and put her hand over her mouth when she saw a memorial of flowers to the two victims. WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were killed Wednesday during an interview at the shopping center, Bridgewater Plaza on Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta, Virginia.

Mikey Monaghan says she and her husband arrived at their vacation home in nearby Huddleston on Thursday. She says the killings in the normally quiet area around the lake shocked them.

She says: "It's hard to stomach what's happening across the nation. People are using guns to take matters into their own hands."

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8:20 a.m.

The shopping center where two journalists were killed during an on-air broadcast has opened again, with just a few people arriving Friday morning.

Real estate agent Kay DeGiorgi stopped in front of a memorial to victims Alison Parker and Adam Ward. DeGiorgi put down her purse and stood there for several minutes, silently crying and dabbing her eyes.

DeGiorgi's office is right next to the site of the shooting. She says she's been in the area for 10 years and calls it "the safest place I've ever lived."

She called the third victim, local Chamber of Commerce official Vicki Gardner, the face of Smith Mountain Lake. The shopping center is right on the lake, and DiGiorgi noted that Gardner, who was shot in the back and is in good condition at a hospital, works right nearby.

DiGiorgi says: "Keeping Vicki in our thoughts and prayers is going to help heal the community."

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7:55 a.m.

The Virginia shopping center where two journalists were slain during a live interview is set to open for the first time since the attack.

On Friday morning, coffee shop owner Chris Genna walked past a memorial to the victims, with flowers and large portraits. He carried several brown bags of supplies as he unlocked the door to his shop, CJ's Coffee and Sandwich Shop, at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta.

His business was scheduled to open at 8 a.m. That was expected to be the first to opening at the shopping center Friday morning.

On Thursday, the owner of the plaza said the shopping center would be open overall, but it would be up to each individual business owner whether to open shop doors.

Genna called it an emotional day, his voice faltering.

He said: "My thoughts go out to the families."

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7:30 a.m.

The husband of the surviving victim in the on-air attack of two journalists in Virginia says his wife was shot in the back.

Vicki Gardner's husband, Tim Gardner, spoke to ABC News on Friday morning, two days after the shooting in Moneta, Virginia. Tim Gardner says the gunman fired at his wife after shooting WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. Tim Gardner says the gunman missed his wife twice, and she then dove to the ground, curled up in a ball, and was shot in the back.

He says that after the attack, Vicki Gardner got up and walked to the ambulance after being shot, and she didn't know the extent of her injuries at that point.

He adds: "But the surgeon told me that a couple of centimeters and she wouldn't be walking, and a couple of centimeters more and she wouldn't be alive."

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6:50 a.m.

Journalists across the country have joined in tributes on social media websites to WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward.

Broadcasters from Boston to San Diego are posting photos of themselves or their staffs with the hashtag #WeStandWithWDBJ on Facebook and Twitter.

Some are wearing ribbons in the selfies. Others offer condolences and indicate their solidarity with the Roanoke, Virginia, TV station.

Parker and Ward were shot and killed on live television during an interview Wednesday morning. The gunman, 41-year-old Vester Flanagan, died hours later of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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5:20 a.m.

Hearts remain heavy for the morning news team at WDBJ-TV two days after two station employees were shot to death on the air.

Morning anchor Kim McBroom started Friday's broadcast by telling viewers, "another tough morning for us, but we're soldiering on."

Tributes to reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward continued to dominate the 5 a.m. newscast. This time, news unrelated to the tragedy dotted the program.

Parker and Ward were fatally shot by a former co-worker while conducting a live interview at Smith Mountain Lake.

McBroom says Ward was a contributor to the station's Friday night high school football coverage. The high school season starts Friday night.

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4:45 a.m.

Businesses are reopening in Virginia at the scene of this week's on-air shooting as more details surface of the gunman's long history of confronting and bullying co-workers at a succession of television and customer-service jobs.

Friday's reopening of Bridgewater Plaza comes two days after 41-year-old Vester Flanagan killed two journalists from a Roanoke TV station where he once worked, and wounded the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce official they were interviewing.

Flanagan's hair-trigger temper became evident at least 15 years ago at WTWC-TV in Tallahassee, Florida, said Don Shafer, who hired him there in 1999. Shafer recalled Flanagan as a good reporter and a "clever, funny guy" — but said he also had conflicts with co-workers "to the point where he was threatening people."

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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