Facebook Live Suicide: Alabama Man Shoots Himself In Live Video

Alabama law enforcement officials are concerned that using social media to demonstrate violence will soon become a trend after 49-year-old James M. Jeffrey shot himself live on Facebook, Tuesday. The suicide is the latest in a series of deaths showcased live on the social networking site.

Prior to the suicide, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a woman who said her friend may harm himself. On their way to the scene, deputies received calls about people informing they watched a man shoot himself on Facebook livestream, USA Today reported. After arriving at the scene, deputies found Jeffrey dead.

An autopsy has been planned and the Facebook video has been taken as evidence at the scene, AL.com reported.

The suicide video garnered over 1,000 views and was shared several times before being taken down by Facebook after two hours, according to the USA Today report.

"This was a first for us," Anthony Lowery, assistant chief deputy with the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office said according to USA Today. "I hope this isn't a trend starting. It's one thing to commit suicide. It's another thing to victimize other people."

This is not the first time a person committed suicide on Facebook live. Earlier this month, 24-year-old Arjun Bhardwaj jumped to death from an upscale hotel in India’s financial capital Mumbai after livestreaming “suicide tutorial.”

On Easter Sunday, an Ohio man shot dead a 74-year-old man and uploaded the video on Facebook. On Tuesday, a man in Bangkok killed his 11-month-old daughter in a live video on the social networking site before committing suicide. According to reports, the murder-suicide video stayed on Facebook for about 24 hours before being pulled down.

After the Ohio incident, Facebook said it is reviewing its “reporting flows to be sure people can report videos and other material that violates our standards as easily and quickly as possible.”

“In addition to improving our reporting flows, we are constantly exploring ways that new technologies can help us make sure Facebook is a safe environment,” Facebook stated.