The suspect, Steve Stephens, who broadcast his murder of an elderly man in Cleveland, shot and killed himself after a brief pursuit, police said on Tuesday. After two days of searching, authorities are glad that the search is finally over. Police Chief Calvin Williams said, “We’re grateful that this has ended. We would prefer that it had not ended this way because there are a lot of questions, I’m sure, that not only the family but the city in general would have had for Steve,” CNN reported.
Facebook Live killer spotted in Pennsylvania
Stephens was driving a white Ford Fusion and was spotted in the parking lot of a McDonald’s joint.
The employees of said establishment called the police as they recognized the suspect. Stephens reportedly got suspicious and quickly drove away. The state police then chased the suspect for about five miles and performed the PIT maneuver, disabling Stephens’ vehicle. Police said the suspect then pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head.
Cleveland shooter craved McDonald’s
Thomas DuCharme Jr, the owner of the franchise, said that the suspect ordered 20-piece chicken nuggets and fries. After alerting the police, the employees gave the suspect the chicken nuggets but held the fries while waiting for authorities to arrive. However, Stephens did not wait for the fries and drove away.
Killer was pronounced dead
Lyell Cook, the Erie county coroner, pronounced the suspect dead at 11:35 a.m. His office will conduct an autopsy on Wednesday, he said.
Stephens was employed at Beech Brook since 2008 as a vocational specialist and worked with young adults. He had no prior disciplinary actions and kept a very clean record, according to Nancy Kortemeyer, senior director of marketing and public relations at Beech Brook.
Kortemeyer said that the manhunt for their former colleague has been a strain on the staff of Beech Brook.
Facebook has a lot of work to do
The social media giant received widespread criticism for having the video of the murder stay online for more than two hours before it was removed. During an annual developers’ conference on Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg cited that they will keep doing all they can to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
