The ex-TV reporter who ambushed two former co-workers on live TV, gunning them down before killing himself, was a "grievance collector" who sought revenge against those he believed believed did him wrong years earlier, according to a psychology experts interviewed by reporters Duncan Adams and Neil Harvey for The Roanoke Times.
The assessment is part of an effort to understand why Vester Lee Flanagan killed WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward. Flanagan worked for less than a year at the Roanoke TV station under the air name Bryce Williams. He was fired in February 2013, more than two and a half years before the shooting.
Shocking Video: Shooter Recorded Fatal Attack On TV News Crew
Flanagan was part of a volatile category of disgruntled employees who hoard "who-did-me-wrongs," said American College Professor Larry Barton, who is also a threat assessment trainer at the FBI Academy at Quantico. "I worry about somebody who moves into the basement of emotions and collects grievances."
"Some people can be very clever in how they mask their grievances," Barton said. "What's chilling about this is that he held on to very specific anger for more than two years."
A grievance collector can fume for years while planning and obsessing about percieved wrongs before becoming violence, according to Mario Scalora, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln psychology professor who is part of the FBI's Workforce Violence Working Group.
The Roanoke Times story details a series of incidents between Flanagan and coworkers that led to his firing. He filed a state lawsuit against the station, accusing them of racial discrimination, but a judge dismissed it a year before the shooting.
Lead Stories' Trendolizer collects the hottest trending content about Vester Lee Flanagan and workplace violence. Scroll down to see the latest.
