off-duty police officers were called to the station to monitor the praurptd toperty the weeken the firing. employees were told to call 911 if they saw flanagan approach the station ever again. we are hearing, also, from flanagan s family for the first time since wednesday s shooting. they released a statement, and a family friend read it to the media out wiest. it is with heavy hearts and deep sadness we express our deepest condolences to the families of alison parker and adam ward. we are also praying for inrecovery of vicky gardner. our thoughts and prayers at this time are with the victims families. and with wdbj television station family. and that, jose, is a sentiment that has been echoed by so many, not just in this community, not just within the news media community, but by people around the world. you saw that moment of silence this morning on wdbj and people from all over the country sending their thoughts and
sometimes it s easier for a supervisor to sweep it under the rug and not deal with it. unfortunately, these people go from position to position and continue to have the same character traits that are difficult in the work place. no way to share that information, right? well, i think people are afraid to have litigation. regarding what, for example? for example, giving someone a negative review that would affect them from getting a different position. that s why a lot of companies will own lee confirm dates of employment and not confirm how they worked on the job. we know this was someone who was very litigious and suing people. a man claiming to be flanagan sent a fax to abc news and in the letter he wrote, he says, quote, among the things the charleston church shooting was the tipping point, but my anger has been building steadily. i have been a human powder keg for a while just waiting to go boom. is that how they re thinking? is that how their thinking is? how does it go f
blessings of our many friends out there, we will heal from this. reporter: learning a lot more about vester lee flanagan who was let go from his job here at wdbj two years ago. on that day, according to some court documents that nbc obtained, he had to be escorted out by lpolice. they had to actually call 911 because he was so angry. that matches what other former employees have said about him. he was prone to outbursts of anger. we have a look at that 23-page document that he faxed just after the shootings to abc where he said that he had been discriminated against because of his color, because of his sexuality. and that he was angry about it. he also said that he was inspired by the church shooting in charleston. he also gave praise to other mass shootings including columbine and virginia tech. thank you so much. let s talk a little bit more about the shooter. new information is coming to light about him. including his troubling past.
nbc s hallie jackson is in moneta, virginia, with more on that. hallie, what details have you learned? reporter: a number of them, jose. just to give you a little bit of color here at the crime scene where all this happened about 24 hours ago, overnight, we had an emotional moment where visibly emotional employees from wdbj came up and packed up the live truck that had broadcast the shooting and drove it away. let s talk now while everyone is focused new details about the man in this chilling image as we hear from vester flanagan s family for the first time since wednesday s shooting. a friend reading this statement it is with heavy hearts and deep sadness we express our deepest condolences to the families of alison parker and adam ward.
we are also praying for the recovery of vicki gardner. reporter: the picture now emerging of the 41-year-old, a man who felt under fire, filing complaints of racial discrimination at jobs he held, including at wdbj 7. court documents obtained by nbc news show flanagan, known as bryce williams on air, was ordered to contact an employee assistance program there after confrontations with photographers. he filed a lawsuit against the station after he was fired two years ago. the day he was dismissed, station files describe how flanagan had to be physically lifted from his chair by management who called 911. parts of flanagan s violent outburst recorded. the photographer? adam ward, who was killed wednesday morning. he seemed to have a short fuse, something didn t go his way. he didn t fit in because people found it difficult to work with him. reporter: flanagan most recently lived at this apartment complex in roanoke but spent years moving around the country at a local tv reporter.