Two journalists killed in shooting during live newscast at Smith Mountain Lake

Watching CNN.

They just reported that police have a license # and a name.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe
Shooter is now being chased on I-81 North apparently. LEO has name and license plate of shooter as well.

That's good. At least they'll very likely have this nutcase soon.

...... :'(


Rest in Peace you two.... find my friend Mercedes up there... she would have been 21 today. The three of you can hang out in heaven.


Ugh this is really messed up.

originally posted by: vor78

originally posted by: Vasa Croe
Shooter is now being chased on I-81 North apparently. LEO has name and license plate of shooter as well.

That's good. At least they'll very likely have this nutcase soon.

I am thinking this is going to end in suicide or suicide by cop.....

no. this is probably just a bat poop crazy local that did this on impulse. the local paranoid crazy dude that every place has at least one of but everyone ignores. failing that its the travelling paranoid that inhabits campgrounds from time to time along with the normal campers. The chance this is a love triangle is next to nil because of the age difference between shooter and victim. It could be a stalker situation. again a bat poop crazy old loner that feels betrayed by his "onscreen woman" marrying someone else.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe
Shooter is now being chased on I-81 North apparently. LEO has name and license plate of shooter as well.

81 is a terrible road to flee on and great for pursuit. Lots of wide open road there and minimal curves. Easy to shut down on ramps and get traffic cleared.

This will snarl traffic up though, with the shutdowns. 81 is easy to screw up with a minor accident. Lots of trucks there, too. Wouldn't be surprised to see a rolling roadblock.

Schools in the area have been locked down. They are also planning on bringing in counsellors and such for the children immediately.

a reply to: hounddoghowlie

I was just about to finish directing my local morning show and I got an alert through my phone. Apparently the station is one owned by the company that owns mine, Schurz Communications Inc. So sad, and senseless. I'll never understand what compels someone to do something like this. It makes me wanna slap the person around and scream "What the #!?$ is wrong with you?!". I hope they catch this asshat soon!

a reply to: Shamrock6

Wouldn't be surprised to see a rolling roadblock.

Depending on the mindset of the shooter, maybe a shootout to follow.

a reply to: hounddoghowlie

Found another source from NBC www.nbcnews.com...

But one thing confused me in it:

In response to the shooting, the New York Police Department said it was sending officers to TV stations across the city as a precaution.

Must be a typo? This event happened in VA, why would NYPD be involved or worried about news stations in NY?

Anyway, very sad story I hope they get the guy who did this. At least the footage caught an image of what he looks like.

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: hounddoghowlie

Found another source from NBC www.nbcnews.com...

But one thing confused me in it:

In response to the shooting, the New York Police Department said it was sending officers to TV stations across the city as a precaution.

Must be a typo? This event happened in VA, why would NYPD be involved or worried about news stations in NY?

Anyway, very sad story I hope they get the guy who did this. At least the footage caught an image of what he looks like.

in the first moments they had to entertain the possibility it was terror related and that terrorist were going to repeat this at multiple media outlets.

a reply to: FamCore

NYPD trying to look like they're doing something.

Shooter is being reported to be a disgruntled employee or former employee.....

originally posted by: tnhiker
a reply to: vor78

Think I read he was engaged to somebody else? So both were engaged, just not to each other I believe.

From the NBC source I posted:

Anchors choked up on air as they spoke of the tragedy: Both Parker and Ward were dating other staff members. Ward was engaged to producer Melissa Ott, while Parker was dating the station's evening anchor Chris Hurst.

Virginia governor just said that the suspect is a disgruntled employee. Virginia State Police are now lead pursuit agency. The troopers down there don't mess around.

Believed suspect to be Lester Lee Flanighan (unknown spelling) light skinned black make 6'3" 250lbs

a reply to: FamCore

I would think NYPD may do that in response to something that Law Enforcement may know about. This is random. No love triangle as the reporter was engaged to someone else at the news company.

This was for shock factor. To cause fear and terror. Looks like it worked. 2 were killed and the third woman was shot in the back and is in surgery.

If the police and FBI know who it is already, i would have to guess that he was already on the radar....

originally posted by: Kangaruex4Ewe
Schools in the area have been locked down. They are also planning on bringing in counsellors and such for the children immediately.

Why would they need to bring in councilors to the schools if they had not witnessed it or had the incident occur at the school?

a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe

I know. We just played across the lake from there a couple weeks ago. When I was a kid we used to go hunting there - it was all state forest land back in the day. This is really tragic, I hope they catch this bastard.

a reply to: matafuchs

If the police and FBI know who it is already, i would have to guess that he was already on the radar....

Or they ran his license plate while chasing him.