Police dispatch audio reveals desperate moments during Philadelphia standoff
Jillian Mele reports from Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Police Department has not yet found any evidence that the suspected gunman who wounded six police officers during an hourslong standoff was live-streaming the gun battle.
It was reported Wednesday by FOX 29 that the suspect was live-streaming the situation on Facebook.
"At this point, we have not seen any livestream of the shooting related to [the suspect]," a Philadelphia Police Department spokeswoman told Fox News Thursday. "Everything is still under investigation."
A source at Facebook told Fox News Thursday that the social network has not found any evidence of the reported live-stream on its platform, but is continuing to work with law enforcement.
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FOX 29 also reported that the suspect contacted his girlfriend using FaceTime during the standoff with police.
Social media has been used to broadcast sick shooting footage on a number of occasions. The horrific mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques that left 51 people dead was live-streamed on Facebook and shared across social media, sparking a scramble by tech giants to remove the footage.
In 2015, Facebook and Twitter, along with the Google-owned video platform YouTube, rushed to remove shocking video footage of the shooting of two television news journalists.
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Last year, chilling live-stream footage that showed the deadly shooting at a Madden 19 NFL tournament in Jacksonville surfaced on social media.
A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the suspect in the Philadelphia shootout is 36-year-old Maurice Hill, who has a criminal history that included firearms charges. The official wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
During the standoff, the gunman told the police commissioner who was trying to negotiate his surrender that he had an extensive criminal record.
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Hill surrendered early Thursday when police used tear gas, hours after gunfire erupted when officers tried to serve a narcotics warrant.
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The six officers who were wounded were treated and released from hospitals.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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