Police in Cleveland, Ohio are conducting a citywide manhunt for a suspect accused of killing a man and broadcasting the murder on Facebook live. The suspect also claimed to have killed an additional 13 people.
Police say the suspect, identified as Steve Stephens, posted a Facebook Live video at around 2:00 P.M. Sunday afternoon in which he shot and killed 74-year old Robert Goodwin, Sr. The footage reportedly remained online for three hours before being deleted. The video has since been shared in other formats by users on Twitter.
Stephens said in a later video he would not stop until his mother, and another woman speculated to be his girlfriend, called him.
Stephens posted a Facebook Live video soon after, in which he called a friend and appeared to confess to multiple murders, saying that he “snapped.” “I just killed thirteen motherf——,” Stephens tells the unidentified person on the other end of the line, before clearly identifying his Facebook account handle.
Multiple media outlets have reported that Stephens later posted to Facebook claiming to have killed 15 people. His account has since been deactivated.
Cleveland police said in an official statement that it was not a hoax, and that Stephens “did broadcast the killing on Facebook Live.” But, they say that no additional victims have been found. In a press conference held early Sunday evening, city officials called for Stephens to turn himself in.