A 49-year-old Alabama man live-streamed himself committing suicide on Facebook because he was distraught over a break-up, authorities say. 

James M. Jeffrey from Robertsdale was in the middle of a broadcast on Tuesday when he suddenly took his gun and shot himself in the head.

Horrified viewers who were watching at the time then notified the police, according to AL.com.

It is the latest in a string of horrifying acts that have been filmed and streamed live on social media.

The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office said they received a call from a woman who was concerned that Jeffrey had stopped responding to her phone calls.

Jeffrey and the woman were reportedly in the process of breaking up.

As sheriff’s deputies headed to Jeffrey’s home at approximately 11pm on Tuesday, ‘the Sheriff’s Office Communications Division received reports that Jeffrey committed suicide and filmed the event on Facebook Live.’

The sheriff’s office said that Jeffrey’s suicide was viewed over 1,000 times before it was finally removed from Facebook two hours later.

Jeffrey is the latest person to use live-streaming to film a sickening act, a problem that has prompted a backlash against the tool.

A Thai man filmed himself killing his 11-month-old daughter in two video clips posted on Facebook before committing suicide, police said Tuesday.

People could access the videos of the child’s murder on her father’s Facebook page for roughly 24 hours, until they were taken down around 5pm Tuesday in Bangkok, or about a day after being uploaded.

‘This is an appalling incident and our hearts go out to the family of the victim,’ a Singapore-based Facebook spokesman said in an email to Reuters.

‘There is absolutely no place for content of this kind on Facebook and it has now been removed.’

Daily Mail UK

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