Counterterrorism Cops Guarding NYC News Outlets After On-Air Virginia Shooting

Police in NYC used their hefty post-9/11 counterterrorism budget to deploy across the city after two Virgina-based TV reporters were shot and killed on the job Wednesday morning.

John J. Miller, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence, released the following statement at 10:30 a.m., as cops in Virginia continued their hunt for a suspect and a motive. (The suspect, a disgruntled employee, later shot himself in front of cops. More below.)

“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. This was ordered following the shooting this morning in Virginia. 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.”

A spokesperson for the NYPD could not immediately provide a list of TV stations or general locations where local counterterrorism cops were gathering.

However, Anthony Quintano, social media manager for the TODAY Show, shared the following photo of NYPD officers clearing the show’s plaza in Rockefeller Center between 48th and 49th ”earlier than normal” on Wednesday.

Various other Twitter users shared photos of NYPD guards outside the ABC New York offices.

Here’s the full story on the Virginia shooting, via Patch reporter Greg Hambrick.

A gunman who opened fire Wednesday on a television reporter and her cameraman outside Roanoke, Va., killing them during a live interview, died after shooting himself in northern Virginia.

State Police said he crashed his car during a chase in Fauquier County and was found with a gunshot wound to the head when troopers got to his car.

The shooter, Vester Lee Flanagan, was pronounced dead at 1:26 p.m. at Inova Fairfax Hospital, according to Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton.

A state trooper identified the vehicle suspected in the case shortly before 11:30 a.m. as it headed east on Interstate 66. The driver would not pull over for police, according to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

“Minutes later, the suspect vehicle ran off the road and crashed,” she said. “The troopers approached the vehicle and found the male driver suffering from a gunshot wound.”

• See Also: What You Need To Know About The Virginia TV Crew Shooting

Flanagan was a former on-air reporter with WDBJ, in Roanoke, where he reported under the name Bryce Williams.

The victims, also members of the WDBJ staff, were identified as Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, 27.

Ward was the cameraman during a live segment at 6:45 a.m. at Bridgewater Plaza at Smith Mountain Lake. Parker was interviewing a business leader, who was wounded in the attack.

The gunman posted video of the shootings on Facebook and Twitter accounts attributed to Bryce Williams. The accounts, which were quickly suspended Wednesday morning, also included statements critical of the victims.

ABC News reports it received an ”often rambling” 23-page letter in a fax at 8:28 a.m., reportedly from Bryce Williams. The letter reportedly speaks to Flanagan’s motive and has been handed over to authorities.

“Yes, it will sound like I am angry...I am,” Flanagan’s suicide letter said. “And I have every right to be. But when I leave this Earth, the only emotion I want to feel is peace....”

• Read More: News Crew Shooter: ‘I‘ve Been a Human Powder Keg for a While...Just Waiting to Go BOOM!!!!’

Vicki Gardner, head of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, was being interviewed by the reporter when the attack began and was shot in the back. She is expected to recover from her injuries, according to authorities.

A video of the broadcast shows the reporter interviewing Gardner when gunshots are heard. The camera falls to the ground and cries are heard. Patch has chosen not to post that video.

Sheriff Overton noted that he was watching the live broadcast Wednesday morning when the shooting occurred. ”I couldn’t understand what was happening, myself, at that time,” he said during an afternoon news conference.

Flanagan’s personal car was found hours later at Roanoke Regional Airport, according to Overton. Investigators were able to determine Flanagan was using a Chevrolet Sonic he had rented earlier in the month.

They were able to track the car as it headed north on Interstate 81. Using a license plate reader, the Virginia State trooper identified the car on I-66 heading toward Washington, D.C., and initiated the traffic stop that would end with Flanagan’s crash.

“We have a lengthy investigation ahead of us, and that’s our focus going forward,” Overton said.

Parker had recently moved in with her boyfriend, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst.

“I am numb,” Hurst wrote in messages on Twitter, noting that Parker had recently celebrated her birthday. “She worked with Adam every day. They were a team.”

Ward was engaged to a producer at the television station and the couple was preparing for a move to Charlotte, N.C.

Jeff Marks, the general manager of WDBJ, called Flanagan “an unhappy man,” during the noon newscast. “He had a reputation as someone difficult to work with,” he said.

Flanagan was fired in 2013 due to anger issues, Marks said. Complaints made by Flanagan after he was fired were dismissed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to Marks.