CLEVELAND (AP) - The Latest on a fatal shooting captured on video and later shared on Facebook (all times local):
5 p.m.
Pennsylvania police say they kept a close watch on an Erie casino in recent days because the man who recorded himself killing an elderly man in Cleveland had a history of gambling.
The suspect, Steve Stephens, shot himself in the head Tuesday morning in Erie after Pennsylvania troopers spun his car around to end a brief pursuit. The chase began after a worker at a McDonald’s called authorities to report that Stephens had ordered food at the drive-thru.
Pennsylvania State Police Major William Teper Jr. said he was only aware through social media that Stephens’ cellphone had been located Sunday afternoon in Erie just hours after killing 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr. on a Cleveland street.
Teper says investigators are trying to determine Stephens’ movements in the area.
An autopsy is planned for Wednesday.
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4:25 p.m.
A woman says the Cleveland man suspected in a random videotaped killing posted on Facebook nearly hit her as he left the Pennsylvania McDonald’s restaurant where an employee recognized him and called 911.
Gail Wheeler, of Erie, was on her way home from a supermarket and was stopped at a red light when she says Steve Stephens came “whipping out” of the McDonald’s parking lot. She says state police troopers weren’t far behind.
Wheeler says she followed the pursuit and saw a state trooper “clip the back bumper” of Stephens’ car to get him to stop. The car did a half-turn and came to rest against the curb.
That’s when she says she heard a gunshot.
Police say Stephens shot and killed himself at the end of the pursuit.
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2:40 p.m.
An alert McDonald’s employee led Pennsylvania police to the suspect in a Cleveland slaying that was recorded and posted on Facebook.
Henry Sayers, the Erie restaurant’s manager, tells reporters that Steve Stephens pulled up to the drive-thru Tuesday morning and ordered a 20-piece Chicken McNuggets and french fries.
He says the attendant recognized Stephens, who was wanted in Sunday’s slaying of a retired Ohio man, and called 911.
Restaurant owner Thomas DuCharme Jr. tells the Erie Times-News that workers tried to “buy some time for the cops” and told Stephens his order of fries was delayed. DuCharme says Stephens replied he had no time to wait and drove away.
State police gave chase. Authorities say Stephens shot and killed himself during the pursuit.
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2:25 p.m.
The social services agency that employed a Cleveland man who shared video of an apparently random killing he committed says the suspect’s suicide brings both relief and sadness.
Steve Stephens worked at Beech Brook, an agency in suburban Cleveland that deals with vulnerable young people. The agency says that “every suicide is a tragedy” but that Stephens’ death eliminates the community’s fear that he might kill again.
Pennsylvania State Police say troopers acting on a tip spotted Stephens’ vehicle Tuesday in Erie, in Pennsylvania’s northwest corner, and began a brief chase. When troopers tried to spin his car to get him to stop, they say he pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head.
He was wanted in Sunday’s slaying of a retired Ohio man.
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2 p.m.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his thoughts are with the family of a retiree shot to death in an apparently random Cleveland attack that was recorded and posted on Facebook by a suspect who later killed himself in Pennsylvania.
Cleveland police Chief Calvin Williams says the case offers lessons on the power of social media and the harm that can be done online. He says the video never should have been shared around the world.
Zuckerberg said Tuesday that Facebook will do all it can to prevent such tragedies. The company had said after Sunday’s slaying that it is launching a review for reporting harmful content.
Zuckerberg made his comments at an annual conference for developers and businesses who create apps and services on Facebook.
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1:15 p.m.
Pennsylvania State Police say the suspect in a recorded Cleveland slaying that was shared on Facebook fatally shot himself in the head as his car spun out of control.
Troopers acting on a tip spotted Steve Stephens’ vehicle Tuesday near Erie, in Pennsylvania’s northwest corner. That launched a 2-mile (3-kilometer) car chase that ended when troopers tried to spin his car to get him to stop.
Police say the 37-year-old Stephens pulled out a pistol and killed himself as the vehicle spun. No one else was hurt.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says police heroically took quick action to keep others safe.
Police had searched for Stephens since Sunday, when they say he randomly killed a 74-year-old retired Ohio man and recorded it.
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12:50 p.m.
The daughter of a retiree slain in an apparently random Cleveland shooting that was recorded and shared on Facebook says she’s sad that the suspect killed himself in Pennsylvania.
Debbie Godwin tells The Associated Press she would have preferred that 37-year-old Steve Stephens remain alive and face prison time for the Sunday shooting of 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr. She says: “If you did it, you have to face your crime.”
Authorities say they received a tip that Stephens’ vehicle was in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Erie on Tuesday. They say state police tried to pull him over and, after a brief chase, he shot himself.
It wasn’t immediately clear where Stephens had been since the Sunday shooting.
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12:40 p.m.
Police say the man who killed a man in Cleveland and posted video of it on Facebook was located in Pennsylvania because of a tip, which led to a pursuit that ended with the suspect shooting himself to death.
Cleveland police Chief Calvin Williams says authorities received a tip that Steve Stephens’ vehicle was in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Erie on Tuesday morning. State police tried to pull him over and, after a brief chase, he killed himself.
It wasn’t immediately clear where Stephens had been since the Sunday shooting in Cleveland, which killed a 74-year-old retired man.
Williams says investigators had hoped to talk with Stephens to find out a motive.
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12:20 p.m.
Cleveland’s mayor says the death of a man who randomly killed an Ohio retiree and posted Facebook video of the slaying brings some closure in the slaying of an innocent man.
Authorities say 37-year-old Steve Stephens fatally shot himself after a brief pursuit in northwest Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
It wasn’t immediately clear where Stephens had been since Sunday.
Authorities say Pennsylvania police got a tip that Stephens was spotted Tuesday morning in a fast food restaurant parking lot in Erie County, in Pennsylvania’s northwest corner. Authorities say police tried to pull him over and, after a brief chase, he killed himself.
Stephens was wanted on an aggravated murder charge in the death of a 74-year-old retired man in Cleveland on Sunday.
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11:55 a.m.
Pennsylvania State Police say the suspect in the random killing of a Cleveland retiree posted on Facebook has shot and killed himself after a brief pursuit.
State police say Steve Stephens was spotted Tuesday morning by state police in Erie County, in the state’s northwest corner. Authorities say police tried to pull Stephens over and, after a brief pursuit, he shot and killed himself.
Stephens was wanted on an aggravated murder charge in the shooting death of a 74-year-old retired man in Cleveland on Sunday.
He posted video of that shooting on Facebook.
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10 a.m.
Authorities in Cleveland leading a nationwide search for a man wanted in a random killing that was recorded and posted to Facebook are again appealing to the public for help.
Cleveland’s police chief said Tuesday they’ve received more than 400 tips from as far away as Texas, but so far they’ve been unable to narrow down the manhunt.
The search for 37-year-old Steve Stephens is entering its third day. He’s wanted on an aggravated murder charge in the shooting death of a 74-year-old retired man in Cleveland on Sunday.
Police Chief Calvin Williams says anyone who thinks they’ve seen Stephens should call 911.
The head of the U.S. Marshal’s office in Cleveland says he’s confident Stephens will be found. But he says these searches can take days, weeks or even longer.
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7:15 a.m.
A gun range owner says the suspect in a random Cleveland killing that was recorded and posted to Facebook had shot at his facility, and video shows he was warned for breaking rules by practicing “rapid fire.”
Owner Blake Frederick says suspect Steve Stephens visited Sherwin Shooting Sports within the past year. Frederick tells Cleveland.com he recalls Stephens as nice and jovial, not negative.
WEWS-TV reports that a video Stephens posted to Facebook last year showed him rapidly firing at targets at the range in Willoughby and being warned to stop by an employee.
Police say the 37-year-old Stephens had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
The multistate manhunt for him stretched into a third day Tuesday. He’s wanted on an aggravated murder charge in the Sunday shooting death of a 74-year-old retiree.
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1 a.m.
A multistate manhunt for the suspect in a random killing that Cleveland police say he recorded and posted to Facebook is entering its third day.
Authorities say it’s now a nationwide search for 37-year-old Steve Stephens, who’s wanted on an aggravated murder charge in the shooting death of a 74-year-old retired man in Cleveland on Sunday.
Videos Stephens shared show him talking about his despair over gambling debts and trouble with his girlfriend.
On Monday evening, Facebook announced that it was launching a review for reporting harmful content following the killing. The company says it disabled Stephen’s account within 23 minutes of receiving the first report about the video of the fatal shooting and two hours after receiving any report. Facebook says, “we know we need to do better.”
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