Facebook Live Killing Victim Serena McKay Honored With Candlelight Vigil As Probe Continues

The Sagkeeng First Nation in Canada where Serena McKay lived, mourned the death of the 19-year-old, whose killing was posted to Facebook. McKay was allegedly murdered Sunday by two teenage girls who brutally beat her.

“It’s very sad in there. You can feel the sadness, the pain, the hurt. But the leaders that are talking, they’re trying to give hope,” Rhonda Head, who attended the vigil Thursday, told CTV News. Organizer Alma Kakikepinace told local media that other vigils will be held across the country, including in Winnipeg and Montreal.

“We need to stand together on this,” Kakikepinace reportedly said. “We need to stop the hating. Yes, part of grieving is anger, part of grieving is sadness, but there are many other ways to heal from that. We’re offering one way, if people would like it.”

Read: Facebook Responds To Live Video Of Killing, Allegedly Of 19-Year-Old Serena McKay Murder

The alleged video of McKay's killing shows two women beating her and screaming obscenities at her. The attackers, whose identities have not been disclosed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were arrested and charged with second-degree murder. McKay’s death was ruled a homicide by police Tuesday.

Facebook responded to the alleged killing video, saying that an investigation is underway into the incident.

“This was a horrific tragedy, and our hearts go out to the family and friends of Ms. McKay,” a Facebook spokesperson told International Business Times in a statement Thursday. “We have not been able to locate the video on Facebook, and are working with law enforcement as they investigate.”

Even as Facebook said the graphic video showing the vicious attack was removed from the social media site, the chief of Manitoba’s Sagkeeng First Nation Thursday called for the video to be pulled down from the site.

“I’ve been personally given links and then it’s dead [when I click on it]. I’m hoping that means it has been removed, but it’s hard to tell,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Sgt. Paul Manaigre told IBT in a phone interview Wednesday, adding that if the video remained online, it would eventually be removed.

Sagkeeng resident Alma Kakikepinace, who was among the first to discover McKay's body, said she did not watch the video, and "I will not look, because I saw the end result … I ask that people please not post the video anymore.”

McKay was last seen by a family friend Saturday evening and was reported missing on Sunday.

“I can't imagine what the family, the community is going through right now. This is a 19-year-old female; this is someone's child, cousin, niece, sister. They're in shock, they're grieving over her loss and they're trying to come to terms with it,” Manaigre told CBC News Tuesday. “The internet, being what it is today, we have to be careful ... what we do. Everything is being put out there. It can be dangerous.”

Since Facebook launched the video streaming service, called Facebook Live, several users have used it to stream numerous crimes. Most recently, the company condemned the acts of “Facebook killer” Steve Stephens, a Cleveland man who filmed himself fatally shooting Robert Godwin and then posted it to Facebook.