Cleveland police seek suspect after a killing seen on Facebook

Police in Cleveland were searching for a suspect after a man was fatally shot Sunday in an act that was broadcast live on Facebook and viewed there thousands of times in the hours before it was removed.

In a separate video — on a Facebook account under the name Stevie Steve — the gunman claimed he had killed 15 people.

Police officials confirmed that a body had been recovered after the shooting video was posted on Facebook around 2 p.m. Sunday, but Chief Calvin Williams of the Cleveland Police Department said at a news conference that investigators knew of no other killings linked to the case.

The suspect was identified as Steve Stephens. In a video posted on the Facebook account of Stevie Steve before the shooting, a man was shown holding an ID card, with the name Steve Stephens, from a mental health clinic where he claimed to be a case manager. By late afternoon, the videos had been removed from Facebook and Stevie Steve’s account was deactivated.

As the manhunt proceeded, Cleveland news media broadcast Mr. Stephens’ description: African-American, 6 feet 1 inch and 240 pounds, with a full beard. Authorities said he was driving a white or cream-colored Ford Fusion.

Chief Williams appealed to Mr. Stephens to surrender peacefully to either the police or to a clergy member.

In the minute-long shooting video, a driver pulls up close to an older man on a sidewalk. The driver asks the man to say a person’s name, then pulls out a gun and shoots him.

Police identified the victim as Robert Goodwin Sr., 74, and said he apparently was shot at random.

In the video after the shooting, the gunman explains his actions in a long, expletive-filled rant. He also pledges to kill as many people as he can: “I’m about to keep killing until they catch me.”