By Desiree Salas (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Aug 27, 2015 07:23 AM EDT

Bryce Williams has become a headline grabber, as well as an Internet "sensation," overnight after he shot WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and her cameraman Adam Ward during a live morning telecast Wednesday.

Williams who, you say? Williams, a black man, is the onscreen name of Vester Lee Flanagan II, who used to work as a reporter for the same TV station. He had later shot himself about three hours away from the location of the shooting and died at a hospital at about 1:30 p.m. within the same day.

However, before he attempted to take his own life after shooting his former colleagues, he posted a series of tweets and a video of the attack on his Facebook account, Time said.

Who is Williams and what prompted him to carry out such a gruesome act?

"Flanagan grew up in Oakland, California, where he was a homecoming prince one year at Skyline High School," Time noted. "Flanagan graduated from San Francisco State University."

A childhood friend, Virgil Barker, said that Williams was "the complete opposite" of a monster growing up. A former classmate of his had described him as a "flamboyant" personality eager to be in the spotlight.

Williams had worked in various stations in the country.

"From 1997 to 1999, he worked as a general assignment reporter at WTOC-TV in Savannah, Georgia," the news source went on to relay. "From 2002 to 2004, he worked as a reporter and anchor at WNCT-TV in Greenville."

However, the former reporter tended to leave his job "not always on good terms," according to CNN.

"Williams, who was black, sued one former employer in Florida for racial discrimination, a case that was later settled out of court," the news agency said.

Incidentally, Williams accused Parker of making racist comments, which apparently earned his ire. He also revealed, in his post-shooting tweets, that Ward had complained about him to human resource officials in the station.

According to Jeff Marks, WDBJ general manager, Williams had "gathered a reputation as someone who was difficult to work with" after he was hired by the station.

"He was sort of looking out for people to say things that he could take offense to. And eventually, after many incidents of his anger coming to the fore, we dismissed him. And he did not take that well. We had to call the police to escort him from the building," Marks was quoted by USA Today as saying.

The 41-year-old then filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). However, his claim, described by Marks as "fabricated," was dismissed by the EEOC.

In relation to the shooting, Williams had reportedly faxed a 23-page document to ABC News, saying that the Charleston church shooting had triggered his outrage and named other mass shooting incidents as inspirations for the fatal shooting of his former co-workers.

"I've been a human powder keg for a while...just waiting to go BOOM!!!!" he wrote.

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