A tourist used Facebook Live to stream a mass shooting that took place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, early on Sunday.
The shootout reportedly took place after a fight broke out, prompting one suspect to draw his gun. Several people were injured in the shooting.
The Facebook Live video (WARNING GRAPHIC) quickly gained popularity, receiving over 4 million views, 26,000 comments, and nearly 100,000 shares.
“In the recording, taken by Bubba Hinson, from Bethune, South Carolina, who appears to be on a balcony at a nearby hotel, more than a dozen shots can be heard,” reported the Daily Mail. “Lt Crosby said an armed security officer witnessed the shooting and shot the suspect. The alleged shooter then shot numerous rounds and escaped the scene by carjacking a vehicle, police confirmed.”
“Police officers found the stolen vehicle and have identified and apprehended a suspect in the case, according to Lt Crosby,” they continued. “His identity is being withheld, however, until he is cleared medically and warrants are served.”
Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes expressed disappointment in the fact that the shootout had become viral online, Sunday.
“Social media today puts this word out quickly… It does not look good for the city of Myrtle Beach,” he declared. “We’re gonna send a message to do everything that’s humanly possible to stop this violence in our city… I’m sorry for our city that this happened.”
One tourist who was vacationing in the area at the time vowed never to visit again.
“Y’all…for real, I’m never vacationing with my family at Myrtle Beach again,” declared Sabrina Nero on Facebook. “We all had a great time, but I felt like they should have been wearing a bullet proof vest under their bathing suits. Last night around midnight, Bo Kelly and I took a walk on the beach once the kids were asleep and we had a sitter and when we returned back to the hotel…there was a man with gunshot wounds that had just shot at a crowd and jacked a car…and somehow ended up driving to the front entrance of our hotel.”
“This is not the myrtle beach I remember from my childhood at all,” she concluded.
https://www.facebook.com/sabrinanero/posts/10213967037188816?pnref=story
In May, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that he would be hiring 3,000 new employees to sort through violent content on the platform, following a spike in video suicides and murders on the site.
“We know we need to do better,” said the company in a statement following numerous incidents, which included the revelation that one murder video had been on the platform for hours before removal.
In the same month, a man set fire to himself live on Facebook before running into a bar, while police officers also managed to save a teenager from a suicide attempt which was being filmed live on the platform.
In April, an Alabama man live streamed his suicide on Facebook Live following a relationship breakup, while a Thai father also streamed himself hanging his 11-month-old child before killing himself.
In January, four people were arrested in Chicago after they filmed themselves on Facebook Live torturing and beating a tied up disabled man, who was repeatedly forced to say, “f*ck Trump,” and, “f*ck white people.” On Easter Sunday, Facebook user Steve Stephens filmed himself shooting and killing 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr. before he evaded police for days – eventually committing suicide in a standoff.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.
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