Facebook in violent video review after killing

The social network is in the spotlight as a national manhunt continues for a suspect who filmed an apparently random shooting.

FACEBOOK has launched a review of how it handles violent videos after a clip of a killing in Ohio stayed on the social network for more than two hours.

Police across the US are hunting 37-year-old Steve Stephens after footage showed 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr being approached – apparently at random – before he was shot dead.

The rambling video shows the killer pulling over in a car on a street in Cleveland as he says “find me somebody to kill, gonna kill this guy right here. He’s an old dude”.

After a brief exchange in which Mr Godwin was asked to say a woman’s name – that of Stephens’ ex-girlfriend, Joy Lane – he was shot dead.

The shooting is the latest violent incident to have been screened on Facebook, raising further questions about the way the social network moderates graphic content.

Facebook’s vice president for global operations said in a blog on Sunday night: “We prioritise reports with serious safety implications for our community, and are working on making that review process go even faster.”

Mr Godwin, who had nine children and 14 grandchildren, is not believed to have known Stephens, a youth mentor and careers adviser.

A $50,000 reward is being offered as part of the hunt and Cleveland police now believe Stephens could be anywhere in the US.

The woman spoken of in the video, Joy Lane, told CBS she had been in a relationship with Stephens for several years and that she was “sorry all of this has happened”.

The suspect’s mother told CNN she called him on Sunday after learning about the video and he told her he was shooting people because he was “mad with his girlfriend.”

Some of those who knew Stephens said he “got along with everybody”, while others said he had a gambling problem. He filed for bankruptcy two years ago.

Mr Godwin’s daughter Debbie, 52, said he had been killed while collecting cans in a plastic shopping bag “not because he needed the money, it was just something he did”.

“He wasn’t harming anyone,” she added.

Stephens has claimed on Facebook to have killed at least 13 people, but police say they are only aware of one victim. – news.sky.com