Authorities in Cleveland, Ohio are offering $50,000 for information that leads to the arrest of alleged Facebook killer Steve Stephens.
The man has been sought since publishing a video to Facebook on Easter Sunday that shows him shooting and killing 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr., an innocent bystander police said did not know Stephens.
The City of Cleveland, Cleveland Police and federal authorities are part of the ongoing investigation and search for Stephens.
According to Stephens' arrest warrant, Godwin was "simply walking down the street collecting cans" when he was shot.
From Sunday afternoon and going into Monday morning, local and federal authorities searched dozens of locations based off of leads to no avail. Chief of Police, Calvin Williams, said they are unaware of Stephens' conditions.
"We don't want people to panic. There has been one homicide and we want to keep it that way," said Williams in a press conference on Monday.
FBI: All state, local and federal partners working together to find #SteveStephens. He could be near, far or in between. pic.twitter.com/kRQYu64t05
— Meg Shaw (@MegDShaw) April 17, 2017
Authorities are urging the public to keep their eyes open not only in Ohio but in surrounding states. They emphasized everyone should go about their day as normal as possible.
"The video of the shooting was not broadcast live, as widely reported. It was recorded and then uploaded to Facebook by Stephens, according to a Facebook spokesperson. In a statement, the spokesperson said the shooting was a "horrific crime."
Chief Williams said there are security measures in place for the Cavs game to ensure public safety.
Next update from CPD could be in the form of a press release or news conference around 5 if no other updates come out before then. @wews
— Sarah Phinney (@sarahphinneytv) April 17, 2017
Police say the suspect's vehicle is a white Ford Fusion with temporary tag E363630.
Cleveland police received hundreds of tips Sunday, speculating on the possible whereabouts of the suspect accused of killing Godwin. Rumors filled social media but, case after case, the information led police to a dead end.
Authorities urge the public to call police with any information on the Stephens' whereabouts.
