Terry McAuliffe: Authorities closing in on WDBJ murder suspect, believed disgruntled ex-employee

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” program that authorities are pursuing who they believe to be a suspect and that it is believed to be a disgruntled employee.

“He is on [Interstate] 64 right now, the police are right in pursuit and his arrest should be imminent,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “Apparently he’s called a friend or something, was distraught.”

Earlier on the program, Mr. McAuliffe said he had spoken to Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steve Flaherty and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran.

“We know who the suspect is. We believe it’s a disgruntled employee from the TV station is what we believe right now, but there is an active pursuit going on, we know the suspect and I assume in very short order, probably by the time we finish up this interview, the suspect will be in custody,” he said.

“I mean, what a tragedy,” he said, saying he was in the area recently on a family vacation. “This young woman, 24 years old, photographer 27, another woman shot doing an interview talking about economic development and bringing businesses to the Smith Mountain Lake region.”

“It goes back [to] what I’ve talked about for a long time — there are too many guns in the hands of people who should not have guns,” he said. “This is why I’ve long advocated for background checks. I’m a gun owner, I’m a hunter. But you know what? I went through background checks myself … in America, we have got to come together. There is too much gun violence in the United States of America.”