Cleveland police still searching for Facebook shooting suspect

Henry Palattella

A gunman streamed himself shooting and killing a bystander on Facebook Sunday — this rocked the city of Cleveland, and he still remains at large. 

The victim, later identified as 74-year-old Cleveland resident Robert Godwin Sr., was walking on Cleveland’s East 93rd Street when Steve Stephens approached him. Stephens told Godwin to say the name “Joy Love” before pulling a gun on him. 

Stephens posted two more videos of himself to Facebook, one of which shows him discussing the shooting with someone on the phone. Stephens wrote on Facebook that he had killed more than 15 people on Sunday, a statement yet to be confirmed by the Cleveland Police. His Facebook page has since been taken down.

Stephens mentioned in one of his Facebook videos that he is an employee at Beech Brook, a mental health and wellness organization for children located in Cleveland. 

“We need Steve to turn himself in,” Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said in a press conference late Sunday afternoon. “We need to bring this to a conclusion today.”

Stephens was last seen driving a white Ford Fusion with temporary tags labeled E363630.

Cleveland State University placed their campus under lockdown, as well as the University Hospital. Case Western Reserve University‚ the institution closest to the shooting, wasn’t placed under lockdown.

According to a news release, Case administration sent out a security alert and cautioned students to stay indoors. 

By Sunday evening, the Kent Stater found that authorities cleaned up the site of Godwin’s murder. 

Police urged the public not to approach Stephens, and for anyone with information to call 911.

Henry Palattella is an administration reporter, contact him at [email protected].