Two journalists were shot and killed on August 26, 2015 during a live newscast in Pennsylvania. Manager Jeffrey A. Marks confirmed reporter Alison Parker, 24, and photojournalist Adam Ward, 27, were killed during the shooting.

The gunman was identified as Vester Lee Flanagan II, former WDBJ reporter. Flanagan, known as Bryce Williams on TV, was caught around 11:30 am on Interstate 66.

Virginia State Police said troopers spotted Flanagan’s vehicle and tried to stop traffic. The killer refused to stop — his car ran off the road and crashed. Police rushed the car and later discovered a self-inflicted gunshot. Flanagan died in the hospital later that day.

Flanagan previously created a facebook and twitter account under the name of “Bryce Williams”. At first, he tweeted revenge tweets towards the news station.

Then videos followed. Flanagan tweeted a video of him fleeing the scene. At 11:14, Williams posted a video showing his perspective of the shooting. In the video, as he approached the reporter unnoticed he held the gun up, seconds later he pulled the trigger, firing multiple shots. It was believed that Flanagan had suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work. He was a gay black man, so this could have had an impact on the situation. Although this is a devastating tragedy, Parker’s family looked at this situation with a positive attitude. They want everyone to know that social media is very dangerous, yet it allows you to tell everyone about your thoughts. “Criminals want to get the message out to as many people as possible and it allows you to get the message out to people you have never met” said the Parker family.