Man shot dead while filming Facebook Live video, suspect arrested

A North Carolina man who routinely broadcast his daily life on Facebook Live was fatally shot on Monday while walking through a neighborhood just outside Wingate University. 

Prentis Robinson, 55, was shot just near North Carolina's police headquarters, where he had just reported a stolen cell phone. Investigators believe the shocking murder was retaliation from area drug dealer, reports said. 

The suspect, 65-year-old Douglas Cleveland Colson, surrendered Tuesday to the Union County Sheriff's Office, reports said. Reports further quoted a lifelong Wingate resident informing that has been arrested before.

"The Wingate Police Department in conjunction with the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and the Union County Sheriff’s Office worked a death investigation until they had a suspect, this morning they made an arrest and he is in custody," police said in a statement on Facebook.

In the live footage, which Facebook has since removed, Robinson was seen walking down a street in a neighborhood with a cell phone attached to a selfie stick, or a monopod device used to take photos or videos. He was talking to viewers.

Robinson then said "you on Live" repeatedly to someone off-camera. The person, who was not visible, then appears to have fired four gunshots at Robinson until he fell to the ground.

Facebook said in a statement that it removed the video because it had no way of knowing whether the victim would have wanted "this horrific act" to be broadcast on social media.

"We will apply a warning screen to future uploads of the video intended to raise awareness or condemn this tragedy, and limit accessibility to people over the age of 18," said a Facebook spokesperson in a statement on Tuesday.