Vester Lee Flanagan II, the fired Virginia television reporter who killed two colleagues on live television on Wednesday, had previously sued a Florida television station for racial discrimination and had a history of workplace complaints, according to court records and interviews.
Flanagan, who used the on-air name Bryce Williams, filed a lawsuit in 2000 against WJHG in Panama City, Florida, alleging that a supervisor called him a 'monkey' and that the station discriminated against him because of his race. The case was later dismissed.
At WDBJ7 in Roanoke, where he worked until his firing in 2013, Flanagan had also filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging racial slurs by colleagues. Station management said those claims were investigated and found to be unsubstantiated.
Flanagan was escorted out of the station by police after his termination, according to WDBJ president and general manager Jeffrey Marks, who described him as 'an unhappy man' and 'difficult to work with.'
In a 23-page manifesto sent to ABC News after the shooting, Flanagan cited the Charleston church shooting as the 'final straw' that led him to buy a gun, and referenced the Virginia Tech and Columbine shooters as influences. He also complained of racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and bullying at work.
