Home Media & Arts News Organizations on High Alert following On-Air murder of Reporter and Photographer

News Organizations on High Alert following On-Air murder of Reporter and Photographer

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ABC News recieves 23-page document from the suspect.

News organizations in New York were on high alert on Wednesday after a reporter and photographer from a Virginia television station were gunned downed on live television Wednesday morning.

John Miller, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of counterterrorism and intelligence, sent a memo to news organizations Tuesday morning alerting them to extra security for local news crews. “Out of an abundance of caution the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau, Critical Response Vehicles and Hercules Teams have been deployed to television news outlets in New York City,” he wrote.

Miller, who is a former CBS News and ABC News correspondent, added that “while there is no indication of any threat to media outlets beyond this incident, we have provided an additional layer of security until we have a fuller understanding of the motive behind the Virginia incident.”

The suspect has been identified as a Vester Lee Flanagan (known professionally as Bryce Williams), a former employee at the station who was apparently nursing a grievance. He was confronted by authorities Wednesday morning and shot himself. He is alive, but in very critical condition.

Meanwhile, ABC News confirmed on Wednesday morning that the news organization received a 23-page fax sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from someone who identified himself as Bryce Williams. An ABC News spokesperson would not divulge the contents of the document, but it was immediately turned over to law enforcement.

The incident spurred a reiteration from ABC News management of “the importance of safety and vigilance,” a spokesperson tells THR. “Today illustrates that we need to always be mindful of our surroundings.”