Livestreamed crime is a phenomenon in which people publicly
livestream, (upload video and/or audio in real time) criminal acts on social media platforms such as
Twitch or
Facebook Live.
Due to the fact that livestreams are accessible instantaneously, it is difficult to quickly detect and moderate violent content, and almost impossible to protect the
privacy of victims or bystanders.[1][2][3][4] Livestreaming crime allows anyone from the public to become a distant witness.[5]
History
In April 2016, Marina Lonina, age 18; and Raymond Gates, age 29, were arrested in
Ohio, US on charges that Gates raped an underage friend of Lonina's while Lonina live streamed the crime on
Periscope.[6][7] The prosecutor pointed out that Lonina, who was taken advantage of by a much older man, had become "caught up" in her excitement over the number of "
likes" she was getting, and is shown on screen "laughing and giggling".[6] Joss Wright of the
Oxford Internet Institute pointed out that, given the "volume of content being created and uploaded every day, [there] is almost no practical way to prevent content like this being uploaded and shared".[7]
By May, The New York Times was including the Periscope rape as one of a series of recent cases in which crimes were live streamed. These included one in which a young woman in
Égly, France, speaks via Periscope about her distress and suicidal thoughts and is apparently encouraged by viewers to kill herself, which she does by throwing herself under a train. Also included was the case of two teenagers who live stream themselves bragging and laughing as they beat up a drunken man in a bar in
Bordeaux, France.[8]
A war crime is the act of breaking the laws of war, and in recent years, there have been more instances of people or groups live-streaming such acts to instill fear into the public. Some groups create websites or use the
dark web to host these live streams.[citation needed][examples needed] Many times, the videos are of hostages or prisoners of war that are used as leverage or as a means of exerting fear and control.[examples needed]
Instances
2008
8 June: A bystander livestreamed the
Akihabara massacre on
Ustream, attracting an audience of 2,000 viewers. Another user also used Ustream to livestream the massacre's aftermath, including police and public response.[25]
2015
12 July: Two
West Weber, Utah teenagers were arrested after filming themselves stealing ice cream from a truck while livestreaming on Periscope.[26]
1 August:
Korryn Gaines of
Randallstown, Maryland livestreamed her actions on
Facebook and
Instagram as she
resisted arrest and started an armed standoff with the police, which ended with Gaines being fatally shot and her 5-year-old son sustaining injuries to his face and arm after being hit by stray bullets.[28][29]
November: A
Jackson, Michigan man livestreamed breaking into a home and shooting a woman on Facebook Live.[30]
3 January: A
torture incident in Chicago, in which an 18-year-old mentally-disabled white male was filmed being physically and verbally abused by four black individuals (two men and two women), was livestreamed by one of the women on
Facebook and sparked massive controversy.[32]
10 April: A
Los Angeles man shot at passing cars and police officers while livestreaming on Facebook Live.[34]
24 April: A
Phuket man livestreamed himself killing his newborn daughter on Facebook. He soon after committed suicide.[35]
2018
22 February: A
Middletown, Connecticut man livestreamed himself on Facebook Live as he drove through the front doors of a hospital, before setting himself on fire. The man was treated for burn injuries and arrested.[36]
4 April: A
Detroit teenager accidentally shot their friend while playing with a gun on Instagram Live.[37]
9 October: Stephan Balliet
committed a shooting near a synagogue and kebab restaurant in
Halle,
Saxony-Anhalt,
Germany, resulting in two dead and two others injured; the attack was livestreamed on Twitch.[43]
26 May: A man in
Stamford, Connecticut livestreamed himself on
Instagram on a highway overpass saying he thought people were following him. He then began to fire on passing vehicles on the road below.[49]
July: A
Tallahassee, Florida teen was murdered while livestreaming on Instagram in a church parking lot.[50]
8 November: A
Las Vegas man killed his girlfriend at her home while live on Facebook. Shortly before the livestream, the man also killed the woman's grandfather.[51]
20 August: 19-year-old Aidan Ingalls shot a man to death and critically injured his wife on the
South Haven Pier before turning the gun on himself halfway down. The entire shooting lasted around a minute and was captured on
WWMT's beach camera, which was being livestreamed on YouTube.
15 June: A
West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana reserve deputy filmed himself on Facebook firing at a fleeing vehicle as he and a full-time deputy investigated a vehicle theft. The reserve deputy was fired and later charged with illegal discharge of a weapon.[64]
28 June: An
Ypsilanti, Michigan man was shot and killed on Facebook Live due to a purported argument.[65]
24 July:
Brooklyn-based pastor
Lamor Whitehead and his wife were robbed of more than $1,000,000 worth of jewelry during a livestreamed church service.[66]
7 September: During a
shooting spree in
Memphis, Tennessee, Ezekiel Kelly, a 19-year-old man, livestreamed himself on Facebook Live entering an AutoZone store and critically wounding an employee.[67]
22 December: A
Handsworth, West Midlands man stabbed three people, killing one, in a "drink and drug-fuelled rampage" on Facebook Live.[68]
2023
25 March: A
Columbus, Mississippi woman fatally shot a man in a domestic violence incident on Facebook Live.[69]
10 April: 25-year-old Connor James Sturgeon livestreamed on Instagram as he
opened fire at a bank he previously worked at in
Louisville, Kentucky, killing 5 and wounding 8 before being fatally shot by police.[70]
27 April: A
Minneapolis man barricaded himself for several hours in a standoff with the FBI before being fatally shot, all while livestreaming on Facebook Live. [72]
23 May: 2 men were attacked with a knife while livestreaming on
Douyin in
Xiamen, China.[73]
7 June: A
Shreveport, Louisiana woman "fired wildly" during an argument on a Facebook Live broadcast.[74]
16 June: A
Doda, Jammu and Kashmir man murdered a relative with an axe during a Facebook Live broadcast.[75]
23 July: After murdering his ex-girlfriend and her sister, a Tallahassee, Florida man streamed his suicide on Facebook Live.[76]
August: An Oklahoma teenager was accidentally shot in the face by another teenager.[77]
11 August: A
Gradačac man shot and killed his ex-wife and 2 other people live on Instagram. He also wounded a police officer and 2 others before killing himself.[78]
7 October: During the
2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas fighters livestreamed the attack through Facebook Live, sometimes from phones stolen from Israelis.[79][80]
9 October: An 18-year-old
Hebron man livestreamed on Facebook as he attempted to attack Israeli soldiers with a construction vehicle.[81]
20 October: 2
San Antonio teenagers accused of a fatal drive-by shooting livestreamed a car chase and their subsequent arrest on Instagram Live.[82]
22 October: A San Antonio man shot at a dog during a livestream.[83]
29 October: A shooting during Halloween festivities at
Ybor City, a neighborhood in
Tampa, which resulted in 2 dead was livestreamed on Instagram Live by victims.[84]
12 December: A group of friends in a
Miami-Dade County rental were livestreaming when their house was shot at in a drive-by shooting, wounding a woman.[86]
12 December: An
Uber driver in Mexico was shot during a struggle while driving and streaming on
TikTok.[87]
15 December: 54-year-old Serhiy Batryn
detonated 3 grenades during a meeting at Keretsky town hall, killing 1 and wounding 26. The meeting was being livestreamed at the time of the attack.[88][89]
2024
2 January: A
Waukesha, Wisconsin man engaged in a shootout with police on Facebook Live following a domestic violence call.[90]
8 February: Indian politician Mauris Noronha shot and killed his rival Abhishek Ghosalkaron on Facebook Live before killing himself.[92]
13 April: A man livestreamed himself as he fired several shots from a rifle while on the roof of a
Marina del Rey, California apartment building.[93]
9 May: A Korean YouTuber fatally stabbed another YouTuber on a livestream.[94]
23 May: A
Fort Wayne, Indiana man fired several shots at a random person inside a
Kroger supermarket while on Facebook Live.[95]
26 June: A 19-year old Jordan Patten livestreamed himself attempting to commit a mass stabbing in Newcastle but eventually gave up. No one was injured. [96]