Cleveland police are continuing a manhunt for a suspect who shot and killed an elderly man during a Facebook Live broadcast on Sunday – and claimed to have killed 14 more people, promising more murders.
During a news conference held several hours after the incident, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin D. Williams confirmed that both county and federal law enforcement had joined the manhunt operation to find Stephens.
Chief Williams stated that there had been no official sightings of the suspect in the five hours since the shooting, and police could therefore not confirm whether Stephens was still in the Cleveland vicinity.
Authorities also failed to locate any additional victims the suspect was boasting about.
“Suspect did broadcast the killing on Facebook Live and has claimed to have committed multiple other homicides which are yet to be verified,“ Cleveland Police confirmed in a statement published online.
Police describe Stephens as 6’1 (1.85 meters) tall, 244lbs (110kg) with a full beard, wearing a dark blue and grey or black striped polo shirt.
He is driving a white Ford Fusion and is considered armed and dangerous. Police have asked the public not to approach Stephens and instead call 911.
Stephens claimed via his Facebook page that he had committed over fifteen murders Sunday but police have yet to verify his claims reports NBC.
“No additional victims have been found. Officers continue to search multiple areas,” police wrote in an update to the previous statement.
He also wrote that he would not stop his rampage until either his mother or a woman, reported to be his ex-girlfriend, named Joy Lane called him.
“And I’m about to keep killing until they catch me,” he wrote on Facebook as cited by NBC.
#Breaking The Cleveland Clinic is on lockdown right now because of this active shooter that killed someone on Facebook Live.
— Tia A. Ewing (@TIA_EWING) April 16, 2017
Stephens’ Facebook page was taken down after several hours but clones of the video have been shared online.
