VIDEO BEFORE STEPHENS DEATH … The FBI gives an update on the manhunt of Steve Stephens, the man who was charged with the aggravated murder of a 74-year-old man who was fatally shot on a sidewalk.
The man who randomly killed a Cleveland retiree and posted video of the crime on Facebook shot himself to death on Tuesday April 18, 2017 in Pennsylvania, police said.
Pennsylvania State Police said Steve Stephens was spotted Tuesday morning in Erie County, in the state’s northwest corner. Authorities say officers tried to pull Stephens over and, after a brief pursuit, he shot and killed himself.
Law enforcement officials had said on Monday that Stephens’ cellphone was last tracked Sunday afternoon in Erie, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles east of Cleveland. Within 24 hours, police and the FBI and US Marshals expanded the search nationwide and offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his capture and prosecution.
He was wanted on an aggravated murder charge in the shooting death of a 74-year-old man who was picking up aluminum cans on Sunday after dining and spending Easter with his family.
On Facebook, Stephens posted a video of himself killing Robert Godwin Sr., a former foundry worker who had 10 children, police said. In it, he said, “I snapped, I just snapped.”
Stephens, 37, shared a recording on Sunday announcing his plan to kill someone, then two minutes later posted another video of himself shooting and killing Godwin, Facebook said. A few minutes after that, he went live and confessed, the company said.
Facebook said it disabled Stephen’s account within 23 minutes of receiving the first report of the fatal shooting shooting.
Facebook also announced it was launching a review for reporting harmful content.
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