Twitter, Facebook suspend Virginia shooter's accounts

Twitter and Facebook have suspended the accounts of Bryce Williams who posted online the videos of the killing of two TV journalists in Virginia.

The bizarre incident took place on Wednesday when Williams filmed himself shooting reporter Allison Parker and photographer Adam Ward in Moneta, Virginia.

Both Twitter and Facebook suspended his profile pages within minutes, CNN reported.

Twitter's rules state that users "may not publish or post threats of violence against others or promote violence against others".

Similarly, Facebook prohibits people from "celebrating any crimes you've committed", and removes graphic images if they are shared "to celebrate or glorify violence".

Williams, also known as Vester L. Flanagan, was a reporter for WDBJ, a CNN affiliate where Ward and Parker also worked.

Flanagan posted two videos of the incident on Twitter and one on Facebook.

One of them showed Flanagan walking up to Parker and Ward and pointing a gun at them. Another video showed Flanagan firing the gun. "I filmed the shooting," he tweeted.

The videos automatically played on the social media sites for anyone who looked at his accounts or saw a retweet of the original post.

Both social networks rely on users to flag inappropriate posts, which they then review and determine if an account should be suspended or if a post should be removed.

But neither platform pre-screens posts before they are published.