Reporter and Cameraman Murdered During Live TV Broadcast

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

Game on! He's not dead yet, (in critical condition)

...who, when he seemed about to recover, suddenly felt the icy hand of death upon him...

[EagleFan]

He needs to feel the spiny hand of suffering before the icy hand of death...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

Game on! He's not dead yet, (in critical condition)

Go figure. Kills others and then can't figure out how to kill himself.

[cartman]

The shooter is downgraded back to dead.

[Butter]

The original video, even though none of the killing is actually visible, is still pretty effed up. I am still nauseous from watching it 3 hours ago.

Feel so bad for the victims and families... Anyone who was watching that station at the time is scarred for life.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by cartman

The shooter is downgraded back to dead.

Sounds like an upgrade to me.

[Julio Riddols]

Goodness, man. I'm with those who think a manifesto should have been enough of a warning. This is some sad, cold, evil stuff.

[Dutch]

Haven't seen the footage...but I know its terrible. Sad day.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Haven't seen the footage...but I know its terrible. Sad day.

Don't watch it. It's fucked me up for the day, to say the least.

[CU Tiger]

Im amazed at how long he stood there gun pointed before firing or being noticed

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

The original video, even though none of the killing is actually visible, is still pretty effed up. I am still nauseous from watching it 3 hours ago.

Feel so bad for the victims and families... Anyone who was watching that station at the time is scarred for life.

You would have to think that was probably his intention, to scare those at the station.

[RainMaker]

Sounds like the guy was a huge narcissist. Failed at everything in his life and tried to blame it on racism. Reminds me a bit of the Elliot Rodger guy who blamed women for all his problems and wrote out a manifesto of his own.

Maybe it's always been this way but it sure feels like we're breeding more and more of these narcissists that turn on society at some point.

[jeff061]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Sounds like the guy was a huge narcissist. Failed at everything in his life and tried to blame it on racism. Reminds me a bit of the Elliot Rodger guy who blamed women for all his problems and wrote out a manifesto of his own.

Maybe it's always been this way but it sure feels like we're breeding more and more of these narcissists that turn on society at some point.

There are more and larger soapboxes these days and the media makes sure to reward these scums with the attention they desire(while future killers take note). I don't think there are more crazies, just a larger carrot for less effort.

[Butter]

Social media is a haven for narcissists. It is a medium where it is all about them 24/7, whether or not anyone is paying attention.

Not saying social media caused this whatsoever, but it is certainly a platform of which this guy was clearly quite aware.

[NobodyHere]

Looks like this was a racially motivated hate crime.

[tarcone]

I always wondered when someone would be shot on live TV.
World is full of insane people.

Just can't understand people killing people.

[molson]

I wonder where he was planning on driving to.

It's always amazing to me how quickly the police are usually able to catch people they really want to find considering how big and rural this country is, and the fact that there's so much private property. Of course, they usually get a lot of help from the person they're chasing. I'd say a major highway (at the peak of the manhunt) still in the area would be just about the worst place to be. Of course, it was more important to him to get on facebook and tell us how he was the victim than it was to have a plan here.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

I wonder where he was planning on driving to.

It's always amazing to me how quickly the police are usually able to catch people they really want to find considering how big and rural this country is, and the fact that there's so much private property. Of course, they usually get a lot of help from the person they're chasing. I'd say a major highway (at the peak of the manhunt) still in the area would be just about the worst place to be. Of course, it was more important to him to get on facebook and tell us how he was the victim than it was to have a plan here.

I don't get a real sense he felt like he needed (or wanted) much of a long-term plan. Unless you've got a jet to a non-extraditing country waiting with the engine running, your odds of just disappearing from something like this are pretty low I figure.

[booradley]

Originally Posted by heybrad

+1 Horrific.

Interesting how different people's perceptions can be. While everyone at work agreed that this was a terrible event, everyone also agreed that the video footage was benign. And I work with all different sorts of folks (marketing firm).

Don't misunderstand me though - I don't discount your feelings. It just seems that the reactions I read on the internet never seem to jive with the reactions of people I interact with daily (family, co-workers, friends). 9-11 was another prominent example. And the Charleston shootings. Maybe we're just a hardened bunch in NC/VA. Shrug ...

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by booradley

Interesting how different people's perceptions can be. While everyone at work agreed that this was a terrible event, everyone also agreed that the video footage was benign. And I work with all different sorts of folks (marketing firm).

Don't misunderstand me though - I don't discount your feelings. It just seems that the reactions I read on the internet never seem to jive with the reactions of people I interact with daily (family, co-workers, friends). 9-11 was another prominent example. And the Charleston shootings. Maybe we're just a hardened bunch in NC/VA. Shrug ...

it was like an episode of the A-Team: there was shooting, getting shot, running, and falling but no blood

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by booradley

Don't misunderstand me though - I don't discount your feelings. It just seems that the reactions I read on the internet never seem to jive with the reactions of people I interact with daily (family, co-workers, friends) ...

This one seems to be all over the board with reactions best I can tell.

I haven't watched, feel no need to see it frankly. But I mostly {shrug} if somebody chooses to watch.

By the same token, we all react to different stresses differently. I've got numerous friends in the TV/media business who are pretty shaken up by the story ... on the other end of the spectrum I cracked at least a couple of inappropriate "too soon?" type jokes here at home after the gunman shot himself. I'm sure the badly shaken folks would have been mortified but we all react to stress in our own way.

Same thing with the anchorman finance guy tweeting throughout a good bit of the morning. I suspect there will be people who question that but I looked at it as him going on auto-pilot (he described himself as "numb") and his instincts took over and sent him to social media. I don't have any problem with that but I figure the snark about it will be forthcoming.

[heybrad]

Originally Posted by booradley

Interesting how different people's perceptions can be. While everyone at work agreed that this was a terrible event, everyone also agreed that the video footage was benign. And I work with all different sorts of folks (marketing firm).

Don't misunderstand me though - I don't discount your feelings. It just seems that the reactions I read on the internet never seem to jive with the reactions of people I interact with daily (family, co-workers, friends). 9-11 was another prominent example. And the Charleston shootings. Maybe we're just a hardened bunch in NC/VA. Shrug ...

I get what you're saying but I would suggest that my horror at what I saw has nothing to do with blood and guts or anything like that. It's a real video of someone losing their life. I can watch any number of movies with violence and not care one bit because I know it's fake. The idea of witnessing a human life being taken is just horrific to me and the stupidity for me is I knew that going in and never should have watched it.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by booradley

Interesting how different people's perceptions can be. While everyone at work agreed that this was a terrible event, everyone also agreed that the video footage was benign. And I work with all different sorts of folks (marketing firm).

Don't misunderstand me though - I don't discount your feelings. It just seems that the reactions I read on the internet never seem to jive with the reactions of people I interact with daily (family, co-workers, friends). 9-11 was another prominent example. And the Charleston shootings. Maybe we're just a hardened bunch in NC/VA. Shrug ...

I guess it's benign if you can view it as just something that happened and not put yourself in the shoes of the people getting shot. I mean, this is a man holding a camera falling over dead and a woman screaming for her life, unsuccessfully.

Sure, there is no gore, but that doesn't mean it wasn't affecting.

You want gore, go watch the Budd Dwyer footage. Shit's fucked up bad, man. Real bad.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by heybrad

I get what you're saying but I would suggest that my horror at what I saw has nothing to do with blood and guts or anything like that. It's a real video of someone losing their life. I can watch any number of movies with violence and not care one bit because I know it's fake. The idea of witnessing a human life being taken is just horrific to me and the stupidity for me is I knew that going in and never should have watched it.

I used to have a roommate who loved those Faces of Death videos or whatever from back in the day. I generally avoided watching them, but I did catch the end of one which showed a woman getting hit and thrown by a train. Pretty much disappeared out of camera view and you could see no blood whatsoever.

And yet having seen that video still disturbs me to this day.

[heybrad]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I used to have a roommate who loved those Faces of Death videos or whatever from back in the day. I generally avoided watching them, but I did catch the end of one which showed a woman getting hit and thrown by a train. Pretty much disappeared out of camera view and you could see no blood whatsoever.

And yet having seen that video still disturbs me to this day.

When my wife and I were first married we used to go to Disneyland all the time. One night we witnessed a guy commit suicide by jumping off the top of the Disneyland hotel. It was probably 20 years ago but it's still a vivid memory for me and one of the worst things I've ever seen.

[rowech]

I have not watched this video because I was forever scarred after seeing the Dwyer video from I think the 1970s when he shot himself on live TV. Sounds like this video isn't even close to that which is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. Strongly suggest that if you've never seen it that you keep it that way. I only mention it because people are acting as if this is the first time something like this has happened.

[Suicane75]

Dwyer thing happened in the early-mid 80's. I remember I was either home from school or home for lunch and my mom had the news on. Even as a little kid it was surreal.

[panerd]

Just sat down to watch the Mr. Robot finale and saw that it apparently had a scene just like what happened today and they pulled it. Wonder if it was a newsperson being shot on camera or just an overeaction with someone being killed? I'm lost on this show anyways so it gives me one more week to prepare to be even more confused.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by rowech

I have not watched this video because I was forever scarred after seeing the Dwyer video from I think the 1970s when he shot himself on live TV. Sounds like this video isn't even close to that which is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. Strongly suggest that if you've never seen it that you keep it that way. I only mention it because people are acting as if this is the first time something like this has happened.

I was telling someone about that video today. That was the most disturbing thing I've ever seen in my life. Even thinking about his life less face gives me an empty feeling in my body.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by panerd

Just sat down to watch the Mr. Robot finale and saw that it apparently had a scene just like what happened today and they pulled it. Wonder if it was a newsperson being shot on camera or just an overeaction with someone being killed? I'm lost on this show anyways so it gives me one more week to prepare to be even more confused.

Quote from a TV critic who has seen the episode, it doesn't reveal anything more than we already know/assume, but spoilered just in case people are trying to avoid info on this at all costs:

Spoiler

Alan Sepinwall (hitfix TV Critic) quote on this: "This is both extremely unfortunate and absolutely the right call. I've seen the episode and the scene in question. No one would be able to think about anything but Virginia after it."

[lighthousekeeper]

when i watched the nick berg beheading video 10+ years ago, whatever part of me that has emotional responses to videos died.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I used to have a roommate who loved those Faces of Death videos or whatever from back in the day. I generally avoided watching them, but I did catch the end of one which showed a woman getting hit and thrown by a train. Pretty much disappeared out of camera view and you could see no blood whatsoever.

And yet having seen that video still disturbs me to this day.

I've gone through brief periods of time where I become...obsessed isn't the right word, but somewhat close to that, with watching videos like that . The other 99% of the time, I really hate myself for doing it and wish I could unsee and unhear them.

[Suicane75]

I watched all the FOD videos when I was a teenager and for whatever reason, the only image that stuck with me was the people dining on live monkey brains.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by jeff061

There are more and larger soapboxes these days and the media makes sure to reward these scums with the attention they desire(while future killers take note). I don't think there are more crazies, just a larger carrot for less effort.

I haven't watched the video, don't judge anyone who has because we all have that morbid curiosity at times or to a degree, but I'm disgusted at how easy it is to watch it. I don't want blanket censorship when something like this happens, but it should at least be something someone has to actively search for instead of showing up as a link in mainstream news stories. It's also so hypocritical how everywhere phrases it as "Warning: NSFW... you probably shouldn't watch this CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO!!!" It's yellow journalism at it's apex, literally profiting from the violent death of someone, while if anything actually increasing the likelihood of a copycat crime going forward.

[molson]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I've gone through brief periods of time where I become...obsessed isn't the right word, but somewhat close to that, with watching videos like that . The other 99% of the time, I really hate myself for doing it and wish I could unsee and unhear them.

I've definitely seen my share of crazy death and injury videos. It was never the gore I found interesting, it was just the drama and intensity, I guess. It was also interesting and scary to see how things can go wrong in an instant. I didn't feel I was gawking, so much, I did feel bad for the innocent people (of course, plenty of others had it coming, depending on the scenario). But that was part of the experience too. Reading an article about an incident doesn't make me feel that sad after you've read a million of them, but seeing a video can take you a different place of understanding the fear, the experience, what it might be like.

I never felt bad after I saw something like that, it just made me feel everything more - sadness, fear, etc

I could never watch beheadings or anything with animals though. But even with the latter, if it's some kind of sad, but not super-goreish thing you see linked on facebook or something, I do watch even though its difficult, because I want to be someone who knows what's going on and can be inspired to help in any small way I can. Like I want to be pissed about what Idaho farm employees were doing to cows when they were secretly being taped, etc, I don't want to pretend that doesn't exist and gleefully eat my burger, etc. In the same way, I do want to be truly shocked and pissed at those who take others' lives in an instant. And it's easy to become a little dull or jaded to that, especially in my line of work.

[Julio Riddols]

Me too, Suicane... Except I only ever watched the one with that scene on it. The whole time I had this feeling of dull sickness looming over me, but that scene made me stop watching.

[stevew]

Thank god I never saw the Bud Dwyer thing when I was a kid.

[stevew]

Iirc, the Dwyer thing happened on a snow day.

[booradley]

God bless ... Karma's a bitch. A high school bud was assaulted and suffered 8 broken bones in his face. The picture he posted ... THAT got me. Guess I'm not so hardened after all ...

[Fidatelo]

In regards to how everyone handles these sort of things differently, a co-worker of mine was talking casually about the news video this morning, and so I asked if he had watched the one taken by Flanagan (I haven't watched any of them myself). He hadn't, but immediately pulled it up on his phone and watched. His first comment was how surprised he was that Flanagan was able to stand there unseen for so long (as several people have mentioned earlier in this thread). His next comment was "gee, that guy had really poor aim! He had to shoot so many times from so close!".

It was kind of funny and I love an inappropriate joke as much as anyone, but I was amazed he was able to go there so swiftly after watching something like that. My brother can do stuff like that too, just immediately see the dark humor even in situations that most would find too emotional. I remember in high school telling my brother that a friend of mine's father had passed away the night before. There was a brief silence before he remarked "well, I guess we won't be seeing him at the Father-Son picnic this year".

[sabotai]

I watched the killer's video. I think a lot of people who did don't realize that his camera is zoomed in quite a bit. When he goes to shoot, his arm is stretched out. And during the live footage when the cameraman's camera falls to the ground, you can see him walking in from a shaded area.

As for dark humor...yeah, I do that a lot too. It's just a defense mechanism to keep the emotional thoughts away. For example, I was watching the news one day with a friend of mine. The story was that a kid had drowned in a pool and the newscaster said the kids were trying to see who could hold their breath under water the longest. So of course, I had to say "I guess she won." I mean, who really wants to think about a kid drowning in a pool? I don't.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by molson

It's always amazing to me how quickly the police are usually able to catch people they really want to find considering how big and rural this country is, and the fact that there's so much private property. Of course, they usually get a lot of help from the person they're chasing. I'd say a major highway (at the peak of the manhunt) still in the area would be just about the worst place to be. Of course, it was more important to him to get on facebook and tell us how he was the victim than it was to have a plan here.

Here's a clue:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/28/us/vir...ams/index.html

people sometimes forget or don't realize that we are carrying government locator devices on us almost all of the time.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Legal gun used that was purchased after a background check.........

Virginia Shooter Used Legal Gun, Passed Background Check | Mediaite

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Legal gun used that was purchased after a background check.........

Virginia Shooter Used Legal Gun, Passed Background Check | Mediaite

I knew it wasn't his fault.

[cartman]

[RainMaker]

From what I gather he had access to mental health professionals at the station. Was even told to seek help from his boss.

I understand that the mental health cry is the talking point of the week for the left, but in many of these shootings the individual was insured and had access to mental health services. What you'd be looking for is forcing people into mental health services, not giving more "access".

[cartman]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

From what I gather he had access to mental health professionals at the station. Was even told to seek help from his boss.

I understand that the mental health cry is the talking point of the week for the left, but in many of these shootings the individual was insured and had access to mental health services. What you'd be looking for is forcing people into mental health services, not giving more "access".

That is a bit dismissive to call it a "talking point of the week". It has been mentioned numerous times over quite a long period of time (note the timestamp on the cartoon). It does seem that mentally unstable people are using firearms in many of these mass shootings, no?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

From what I gather he had access to mental health professionals at the station. Was even told to seek help from his boss.

I understand that the mental health cry is the talking point of the week for the left, but in many of these shootings the individual was insured and had access to mental health services. What you'd be looking for is forcing people into mental health services, not giving more "access".

My guess is that he took being asked to go seek mental help as an insult. I think that most people would take it as an insult instead of seeking help.

[molson]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

What you'd be looking for is forcing people into mental health services, not giving more "access".

I'd be kind of curious to see some proposed "round up the weirdos and lock 'em up" legislation.

It's actually been a point of emphasis at some police trainings I've been to - proposals/thoughts to more aggressively utilize the power the government already has to detain and treat people against their will. I think most agencies are really reluctant to use that power (it costs a lot of money, and there's backlash from the family and the community, and many are wired to just let the weirdos do their thing until they're actually violent), but I think it definitely should be utilized somewhat more. I'm glad I don't have to make those decisions.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by cartman

That is a bit dismissive to call it a "talking point of the week". It has been mentioned numerous times over quite a long period of time (note the timestamp on the cartoon). It does seem that mentally unstable people are using firearms in many of these mass shootings, no?

They are, but that cartoon implies that it's happening because getting mental health care is an insurmountable feat to acquire. And this narrative gets pushed a lot after these shootings.

The guy in this shooting had access to mental health care. In fact, many of these mass shooters were getting mental health treatment.

Like I said, the issue seems to be less about "access to mental health care" and more about "forcing people into mental health care".