Shooter who murdered journalists on camera had planned an escape

Roanoke Police car outside of WDBJ television studios

(Image credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

published 28 August 2015

Vester Flanagan (also known as Bryce Williams, the name he used as a television news anchor) appeared to have planned to make an escape after murdering Virginia's WDBJ7 journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward, The Washington Post reports. New details revealed that Flanagan had a wig, a briefcase with three license plates, a shawl, an umbrella, and sunglasses in his car.

The car itself was also an indication that Flanagan hoped to get away with murder. It was a rental he had checked out weeks ahead of time, indicating the killing of Parker and Ward was premeditated.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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