Virginia shootings: Gunman ordered to seek medical help

Roanoke

An ex-TV journalist who shot dead two ex-colleagues live on air in Virginia had been ordered to seek medical help by his bosses, memos reveal.

 Internal memos from Dan Dennison, then news chief of WDBJ7, show concerns about Vester Flanagan's "aggressive" behaviour towards colleagues.

 They indicate the station tried to help him before firing him in February 2013.

 Flanagan shot dead Alison Parker and Adam Ward at a shopping centre in Moneta on Wednesday.

 He filmed the attack and posted it on social media. He sent a rambling manifesto to ABC News, saying he was a "human powder keg... just waiting to go BOOM!!!!"

 Flanagan voiced a host of anger-laced grievances, as well as some praise, in a disjointed 23-page document that authorities say he faxed after shooting two WDBJ-TV journalists live on air - killings that he attempted to explain.

 In one document that he called a "suicide note for friends and family," Flanagan, wrote, "I am so sorry for dumping on you ... I am just so sick of this s*** man."

 Flanagan talked about his past, including his time growing up in Northern California and his claims to have worked as a teen model and later as a male escort in addition to his time in television news. He delved into his personal life, including his being a gay black man, offering praise for some relatives, friends and one romantic interest and condemnation for others. He admits to being "somewhat racist against whites, blacks and Latinos."

 He referenced a number of grievances, some of them decades old, and mentioned being bullied and suffering other injustices. Some of these involve places where he worked, including WDBJ. The document does not mention either of Wednesday's victims by name, though it does detail his gripes with the Roanoke television station.

 Flanagan expressed his admiration for Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in 2007. He also referenced the June shootings at a predominantly black African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, carried out by Dylann Roof. Roof claimed he wanted to start a "race war."