A Facebook user from Turkey committed suicide by shooting himself dead while live-streaming on the platform. Erdogan Ceren was heartbroken as he believed that his girlfriend was cheating on him. The 22-year-old man told her that it was not possible for him to live without her, and then he committed suicide.
Listened to no one
Ceren, a resident of Osmaniye Province in Southern Turkey, shot the video at around 3 p.m. inside his home. According to a report from the Mirror, before committing suicide, he even shared a poem meant for his allegedly adulterous girlfriend.
It said: “Our love was going to be a saga, our eyes were not going to shed tears, now tell me love, are you leaving, will my hands burn without you.”
While looking into the camera, Ceren said he warned people that he would kill himself, but no one believed him, “so watch this.” He then explained that his girlfriend ended their relationship, and hence, he was going to commit suicide.
He used a shotgun for the purpose. The gun was jammed and hence, he did not succeed in the first attempt, but he tried again. He readjusted the camera and pointed the weapon at his chest, and then a gunshot is heard. After that, he cannot be seen on the camera.
Ceren’s relatives at home heard the shooting, according to a local media report. He was then rushed to the hospital, but he died later. During the Facebook broadcast, many of Ceren’s friends pleaded him not to commit suicide. The duration of the Facebook clip is 4 minutes and has received almost 12,000 views and comments. It has been shared more than 4,000 times.
Just a few hours before committing the suicide, the victim posted proud pictures of his niece and of his sister, noted online commentators. About 11 hours before his death, Ceren even posted a status update saying: “feeling broken” with a picture of himself attached.
Misuse of sites like Facebook
Social media sites such Facebook were created with the purpose of connecting people. However, now they are being used for purposes such as advertising, campaigning, protests and other uses, in both good and bad ways.
For people using it to recruit for terrorist groups or con people, usage has reached absurd heights. For example, in June, an Islamic State sympathizer posted a 12-minute video threatening future attacks after killing a police commander and his partner in their home outside Paris. The video was later removed.
Another incident took place in July when Diamond Reynolds broadcast the bloody aftermath of the fatal police shooting of her boyfriend Philando Castile during a traffic stop. The video was removed for a short duration but was back again with a warning about its graphic nature.
Facebook has in place certain suicide prevention tools, which makes it easier for users to help friends who post about suicide. Friends can even flag posts that they feel are suicidal. However, there is no information, about if any such thing was done by any of Ceren’s friends.
