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North Carolina man killed on Facebook Live minutes after leaving police station

Posted at 8:35 AM, Feb 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-27 08:35:09-05

Police in North Carolina are searching for a suspect in the shooting death of a man who was killed while streaming live on Facebook, according to CNN affiliate WSOC-TV.

The shooting took place Monday in the town of Wingate. The victim has been identified as Prentis Robinson, 55.

Robinson’s Facebook page is filled with live videos of him playing instruments and walking down the street with a selfie-stick.

Nothing seemed different when the 55-year-old was filming live Monday morning, selfie-stick in hand, complaining about a family member who Robinson claims stole one of his three cellphones. According to WSOC, the video showed him stopping at the Wingate Police Department to report the alleged theft.

The Facebook video shows Robinson as he left the station, walked up a hill toward his home and exchanged a few words with another man.

Then there was gunfire and Robinson, along with his phone, fell to the ground.

CNN has reached out for further comment from the Wingate Police Department.

Wingate police Chief Donnie Gay told WSOC, “I’d just spoke to him, it was, I just … it’s hard to say anything about that. I just got through talking to him.”

Robinson was found face down on the street. Douglas Cleveland Colson, 65, was identified by police as a suspect in the shooting, and is now wanted on a murder charge, according to WSOC.

The fatal shooting led to a lockdown at nearby Wingate University, which is less than a mile from the scene. Wingate Elementary School was also placed on lockdown, WSOC states.

CNN has reached out for further comment from the Wingate Police Department and officials at Wingate University.