Facebook Live Killer Commits Suicide After National Manhunt
The man who police said posted a video of himself on Facebook killing an elderly man shot and killed himself after a “brief pursuit” by Pennsylvania State Police officers on Tuesday, police said.
Steve Stephens was accused of shooting Robert Godwin Sr. on a Cleveland sidewalk on Sunday before fleeing in a car and uploading a video of the murder to Facebook, becoming the subject of a nationwide manhunt.
Officials in the Ohio city said they were looking for Steve Stephens in connection with the one confirmed killing but had found no evidence to support what police said was a claim he made in the video of having killed more than a dozen other people.
Police said Stephens used Facebook to post video of himself killing the man, whom police identified as 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr. Stephens is not believed to have known Godwin, police said.
The world’s largest online social network, used by more than 1.2 billion people every day, condemned the accused killer’s action.
“This is a horrific crime and we do not allow this kind of content on Facebook,” said a spokesperson for the company. “We work hard to keep a safe environment on Facebook, and are in touch with law enforcement in emergencies when there are direct threats to physical safety.”
It is not the first time a serious crime has been posted on Facebook. In January, four black people in Chicago were accused of attacking an 18-year-old disabled white man and broadcasting the assault on the service while making anti-white racial taunts.
A month later, the suspects pleaded not guilty to assaulting the man. {eoa}
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