Facebook Live Murder: North Carolina User Prentis Robinson Shot Dead While Filming Himself
A Facebook Live user broadcast his own murder on the social media platform on Monday, and a suspect was arrested a short time later, NBC News is reporting.
Prentis Robinson, 55, just wanted to make his neighborhood a better place. With the help of a selfie stick, the Wingate, North Carolina, man often broadcast his thoughts, live and in the moment, to his followers on social media.
On Monday, however, he broadcast the final moments of his life.
Just minutes after having left a police station to discuss a stolen phone, and roughly a block away, Prentis was broadcasting when he was shot dead. In the video, which has been removed by Facebook, Prentis could be seen and heard walking down the street when he is approached by someone off-camera. The person’s face is not visible, and it’s not clear what words the two exchanged. However, Prentis can be heard saying “You on live” before the sounds of four gunshots ring out, followed by the sounds of a scuffle.
The Inquisitr will not embed the video, parts of which have been released by the media. However, you can see the fatal moment if you follow this link. Be warned, however, that the video contains content that some viewers will find disturbing.
Police are searching for a suspect after 55-year-old Prentis Robinson was fatally shot in Wingate, North Carolina, while streaming live video on Facebook just minutes after leaving a police station where he reported that his cell phone had been stolen: https://t.co/m4lR5JAygj pic.twitter.com/qcWhTtNUX1
— Tom Cleary (@tomwcleary) February 26, 2018
A suspect, 65-year-old Douglas Cleveland Colson, turned himself in to the Union County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday.
[BREAKING] First-Degree Murder warrant issued for Douglas Colson. He’s accused of shooting and killing Prentis Robinson who was live streaming on Facebook. Robinson was known to “out” suspected drug dealers and criminals on Facebook. Police searching for Colson. @FOX46News pic.twitter.com/FKxUsojBAZ
— David Sentendrey (@DavidFox46) February 27, 2018
Police note that Colson has a lengthy rap sheet. He has been charged with first-degree murder.
As of this writing, police have not disclosed a motive for Prentis’ murder. However, as the New York Daily News notes, he was known to report suspected drug dealers to the police, and his murder may have been an act of revenge.
Prentis Robinson is not the first person to be murdered on Facebook Live. In fact, it’s happened several times. For example, as the New York Times reported in 2017, Steve Stephens allegedly drove around Cleveland while broadcasting on Facebook Live, bragging about looking for someone to murder. Moments later, Robert Godwin Sr., 74, was dead, his alleged murder having been broadcast live on the internet. The video quickly went viral on Facebook, with users — including the victim’s family — begging other Facebook users to stop sharing the video.
