Cops hunt for man who may have broadcast murder on Facebook
Cleveland police hunt for man they believe shot and killed another person in Easter attack
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and police urged the man accused of shooting and killing an elderly man and posting a video of it on Facebook to turn himself into authorities.
Jackson urged Steve Stephens to turn himself into police and not to “do any more harm to anybody.”
"Any problems he is having, we can have a conversation," Jackson said.
Cleveland police Chief Calvin Williams echoed Jackson’s sentiments. He urged Stephens to contact members of his church before hopefully turning himself in, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported.
"If Steve has an issue, then he needs to talk to some folks to get that resolved,” Williams said.
Police were in a frantic search for Stephens early Monday, who they believe shot and killed 74-year-old Robert Goodwin Sr. at around 2 p.m. Sunday. Police issued an aggravated murder arrest warrant for Stephens early Monday.
The video of the killing, captioned “Easter day slaughter,” was up on the social media website for about three hours before being taken down. In the video, Stephens said he “snapped over a woman.” Facebook said in a statement the video was not streamed live.
Stephens later posted another video of himself talking on the phone about at least 13 other murders he claimed to have committed.
"And I’m about to keep killing until they catch me," Stephens said.
Williams said that Stephens has not been connected to any other murders apart from Sunday’s shooting in the Glenville neighborhood, east of downtown. Williams said police have been sifting through “hundreds of leads” since the murder and hoped to bring the hunt to a conclusion soon.
Stephens is believed to be driving a white Ford Fusion with temporary tags. He is described as standing six feet, one inch tall and weighing 244 pounds. Police said Stephens should be considered armed and dangerous.
This is not the first time Facebook Live has been used to broadcast violence or death. In January, four people in Chicago were arrested after they allegedly beat and taunted a mentally disabled man live on the social media site. Then in March, a 15-year-old Chicago girl was apparently sexually assaulted by five or six men or boys on Facebook Live, and none of the roughly 40 people who watched the live video reported the attack to police, authorities said.
"This is a horrific crime and we do not allow this kind of content on Facebook," said a spokesperson for 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."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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