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Saturday 18 June 2016

Chicago man shot dead live on Facebook


Antonio Perkins was shot in the head and neck as he broadcast live on Facebook

A Chicago man was shot dead while live-streaming a video of himself on Facebook, police said on Friday.

Antonio Perkins, 28, was shot in the head and neck on the city's west side.

The video is still available on Facebook and has been watched nearly 700,000 times.

It is the second time in less than three months in Chicago that a shooting has been streamed live on Facebook. In March an unidentified man was shot 16 times while broadcasting live.

No arrests have been made in either case.

Facebook's live-streaming feature allows anyone to broadcast online in real time. It was launched in 2010 but has become more central to the social network's strategy in recent months.

• French live-streaming suicide stirs social media fears

The video of Mr Perkins shows him and a group of people talking before gunshots are heard. The phone then appears to tumble through bloody grass before going black.

Bystanders can be heard screaming and crying.

The video remains on Facebook with a warning message about its graphic nature.

A spokeswoman for Facebook said the video does not violate company policy. The social media site would remove a video if it celebrated or glorified violence, she said.

Earlier this month, the killer of a French police commander and the commander's partner broadcast on Facebook Live shortly after the killings, urging followers to kill prison staff, police officials, journalists and lawmakers.

Chicago has one of the worst gun crime rates of any US city. There were nearly 500 homicides last year, and gun violence is up in 2016, police say.

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