A Man reportedly killed an elderly person on Easter Sunday in Cleveland and broadcast the homicide on Facebook Live. The incident triggered a manhunt for the suspect, who claimed that he committed other killings, but they have yet to be confirmed by the police. The alleged shooter was identified as Steve Stephens, who captioned his homicide video as “Easter Day Slaughter.” The video has been taken down by Facebook.

More violence on Facebook Live

In the video, the suspect was believed to be driving an SUV. He went out of the vehicle while streaming the video on Facebook Live.

Stephens approached the elderly person and asked a question, “Can you say, Joy Lane?”

“She’s the reason why all of this is about to happen to you,” Stephens added. The suspect asked the elderly person how old he was before fatally shooting him. The victim tried to protect himself from the shooter with a plastic shopping bag.

After the shooting, Stephens went back to his vehicle and drove away. The victim was identified as 74-year old Robert Goodwin Sr. Police say the said homicide seemed to be a random act of violence. The video of the killing remained on social media for three hours before it was taken down. Stephen’s Facebook account has also be deactivated.

The suspect’s Facebook account

Before it was deactivated, Stephen’s Facebook account reportedly had several posts that claimed he lost everything to gambling.

The social media account also claimed that the suspect killed 15 people that day. Stephens reportedly wanted to talk to specific people and wouldn’t stop killing people until he did so.

The suspect worked as a case manager with Beech Brook, a children’s behavioral health agency. An official from the agency said that Stephens had recently worked with young adults.

Facebook condemns the homicide

New York Daily News reported that Facebook issued a statement regarding the incident, “This is a horrific crime and we do not allow this kind of content on Facebook.

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.”

There have been several other violent crimes that were also broadcast on Facebook Live, such as the police killing of Philando Castile during a traffic stop in July. During the same month, three people were shot and injured while being streamed live on the social media site.

What are your thoughts on the streaming of violent crimes on Facebook Live?
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