Graphic Chicago Shooting Video of Couple Gunned Down Floods Social Media
A distressing video that captured the moment a woman was critically injured and a man fatally gunned down in a Chicago shooting has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times since it was uploaded onto social media platforms.
The clip showed a man and woman lying on the street near a black car before being fired at point-blank range by a male who later fled the scene.
Seconds before the shooting, the gunman stood close to a group of men who had pulled the two victims from the car.
Members of the same group also fled the scene on foot.
CBS Chicago later identified the male victim as Gyovanni Arzuga, 24, and the woman as Yasmin Perez, 25.
According to the outlet, police said the shooting happened at 9:13 p.m. at the 3200 block of West Division Street.
It added Arzuga suffered a gunshot wound to the head and that he was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived at the AMITA Health Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center.
Perez, who CBS Chicago said was shot in the neck, was rushed to Stroger Hospital, in Cook County, where she was said to be in a critical condition as of Sunday.
The pair had been celebrating the 43rd Puerto Rican People's Day Parade in Humboldt Park and had flown the island's flag from their car.
Graphic footage that captured the moments before the gunman opened fire and the immediate aftermath was uploaded onto numerous social media accounts following the fatal shooting.
On Twitter alone, at least 571,000 people had viewed the fatal shooting as of Monday morning.
Newsweek also found the same clip on Facebook and YouTube. Of all the clips, only Facebook included warnings or viewer discretion pop-ups before the video could be accessed.
All three platforms have community standards policies regarding violent content being uploaded on their websites.
On Twitter, videos that depict violent assaults and sexual violence are not allowed to be posted "within live video or in profile header, or list banner images."
It does, however, allow violent content to be viewed if it is behind a viewer discretion pop-up that warns the user about what is in the video, and must be clicked on in order to see it.
Following the fatal shooting, a GoFundMe fundraiser in Arzuga and Perez's name was launched and has raised more than $7,850 of its $10,000 goal.
Islay Schaffner, who organized the fundraiser said on the page on Sunday: "Gyovanny Arzuaga and Yasmin Perez were celebrating at the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Humboldt Park when they were both tragically shot.
"Gyo, unfortunately, passed away after arriving to the hospital and Yasmin is in critical condition after sustaining a gunshot wound to the neck. Please keep them, their children and their families in your thoughts and prayers during this time."
The statement continued: "This fundraiser is to cover funeral service costs for Gyo's family and medical bills for Yasmin's family."
Newsweek has contacted Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the Chicago Police Department and Schaffner for comment.
