What Was Inside the On-Air Gunman's Rental Car

Vester Flanagan had six magazines of ammunition with him, police say
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 27, 2015 4:28 PM CDT
What Was Inside the On-Air Gunman's Rental Car
This undated photo provided by WDBJ-TV, shows Vester Lee Flanagan II.   (WDBJ-TV via AP)

After his death, police searched the rental car Vester Flanagan used to flee after allegedly shooting two journalists to death during a live broadcast. What they found, per NBC News and reporter Tom Winter:

  • A Glock pistol and six magazines of ammunition
  • A to-do list
  • 17 stamped letters
  • A briefcase holding three license plates, a wig, a shawl, an umbrella, and sunglasses
  • "Assorted handwritten and typed letter/notes"
  • A black hat
  • A "bookbag w/ random papers / cards"
  • An iPhone
  • The Enterprise rental agreement

More details are coming to light today, including the fact that WDBJ, the station where victims Alison Parker and Adam Ward worked, helped authorities identify Flanagan as the suspect. Ward had captured an image of Flanagan pointing his gun toward the camera, and "everybody who was gathered around it said, 'That's Vester,'" the station's general manager tells NBC. "I wasn't sure. They were"—and so the station contacted the county sheriff with the information. After Flanagan allegedly carried out the shooting, police say he texted a friend "making reference to having done something stupid." The third victim, who was shot while Parker was interviewing her on camera, was upgraded to good condition today, WDBJ reports. (More Vester Flanagan stories.)

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