A pair of television journalists at a CBS affiliate in Virginia were shot and killed during a live broadcast Wednesday morning, and authorities said the shooter, a disgruntled former employee at the station, shot himself after crashing his car on an interstate highway.

The suspected gunman, identified as Vester Flanagan, a 41-year-old former WDBJ-TV reporter who went by the name Bryce Williams on air, was taken into custody with "life-threatening injuries," police said. He later died.

The victims, WDBJ reporter Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, her 27-year-old cameraman, died shortly after the shooting, which occurred at approximately 6:45 a.m. at Bridgewater Plaza in Moneta, Va., near Smith Mountain Lake.







We love you, Alison and Adam. pic.twitter.com/hLSzQi06XE — WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) August 26, 2015



The gunman opened fire Wednesday morning as Parker was interviewing Vicki Gardner, the head of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, live on the air. Gardner was shot in the back and taken to a hospital for surgery. She is listed in stable condition.









Warning: The video below contains graphic footage.

The family of the alleged shooter sent a note of condolence via email to the WDBJ-TV news team late Wednesday afternoon to express sorrow for the victims — and to make a plea for privacy.

"It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we express our deepest condolenses [sic] to the families of Alison Parker and Adam Ward," the note read. "We are also praying for the recovery of Vicki Gardner. Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with the victims' families and the WBDJ7 NEWS family. Words cannot express the hurt that we feel for the victtims [sic]. Our family is asking that the media respect our privacy. Sincerely, The Family of Vester Flanagan."

A chilling first-person video posted to a Twitter account belonging to Flanagan — @bryce_williams7 — showed what appeared to be him holding a gun behind Parker and Ward, then firing three shots at Parker as she tried to flee.

"I filmed the shooting," Williams tweeted after alleging that Parker had made "racist comments" about him.

The Twitter account has since been suspended, as was a Facebook account belonging to someone with that name.

(@bryce_williams/Twitter) More

A still image taken from the on-air video shows the image of a man holding what appears to be a handgun.







State police just released this picture of the shooter suspected of killing 2 WDBJ7 employees. http://t.co/Fhs7eFJEJW pic.twitter.com/5iVlGGs1RV — WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) August 26, 2015



Earlier, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe told a local radio station that police were pursuing the suspect and that his apprehension was imminent. McAuliffe said the suspected shooter had been identified and was believed to a "disgruntled employee" at the station.









Heartbroken over senseless murders today in Smith Mountain Lake. State Police on scene working w/ local law agencies to capture suspect. — Terry McAuliffe (@GovernorVA) August 26, 2015

At approximately 11 a.m., state police spotted Flanagan's vehicle, a 2009 Ford Mustang, at a regional airport. Flanagan's rental car, a Chevrolet Sonic, was then picked up by a license plate reader, police said.

Shortly before 11:30 a.m., a Virginia state trooper spotted the suspect's vehicle eastbound on Interstate 66.

Story continues