Those are tweets from Bryce Williams, a former WBDJ reporter, and the suspect in this morning’s murder of two Roanoke, Virginia TV journalists on live television. Not only was the shooting broadcast live by WBDJ as it happened, but Williams, AKA Vester Lee Flanagan, filmed the attack himself, then posted it to Facebook (since taken down). And according to the latest reports, Williams/Flanagan has shot himself as police closed in on him . . .
Williams would seem to be another specimen in the Loughner/Holmes/Houser/Roof genus. He clearly wanted to go out in a very public blaze of glory. Time will tell if he fits that now familiar pattern and taxonomy.
We can anticipate a full accounting not only of his mental health history, but also of exactly how he obtained his firearm in the days ahead. Watch this space.
UPDATE: Here is the video of the attack made by the shooter himself [NSFW]:
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has now weighed in on the shooting, taking the opportunity to push for more gun control laws, including expanded background checks.
“It goes back [to] what I’ve talked about for a long time — there are too many guns in the hands of people who should not have guns,” he said. “This is why I’ve long advocated for background checks. I’m a gun owner, I’m a hunter. But you know what? I went through background checks myself … in America, we have got to come together. There is too much gun violence in the United States of America.”
It should be pointed out that McAuliffe likely has no idea at all yet how Williams/Flanagan obtained his gun. He may have purchased it legally and passed his background check. He may have lied on his 4473. Or he may have gotten it through illegal means. Not that waiting for details like that to be confirmed has ever stops a dedicated civilian disarmament advocate from furthering the agenda.