( 4UMF NEWS ) Suspect Commits Suicide On Live TV:
Embarrassed Fox News executives and shocked viewers from coast to coast were horrified Friday when the network aired an Arizona carjacker’s suicide on live television. The stunning feed of the fleeing suspect putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger aired at 3:31 p.m., with anchor Shepard Smith caught cringing before the coverage ended — seconds too late.
“Get off, get off, get off,” said a clearly distraught Smith, his voice rising as the man’s deadly intent became clear. “Get off it! Get off it! Get off it!”
The network blamed human error for the gruesome gaffe, with one source indicating a Fox producer was slow to cut away from live coverage of what started as a high-speed police chase. The unidentified man was pronounced dead in the Arizona outback shortly after Fox viewers watched the mortally wounded suspect fall face-first to the ground.
Fox News veteran Smith, after the network abruptly cut to commercial, returned to the air with a lengthy apology for the fatal fiasco.
*** WARNING: UNCENSORED!!! ***
Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith repeats the command “get off it” to his staff in the studio as footage of the suicide is broadcast on live television.
“We really messed up, and we’re all really sorry,” said Smith. “That didn’t belong on TV. . . . And I personally apologize to you that it happened. It is insensitive, it is just wrong. And that was wrong. And that won’t happen again on my watch.”
