MAYHEM AND MURDER: 10 most shocking Facebook Live moments ever

On its surface, Facebook Live was meant to empower users to share life's special moments with family and friends in real time.

But the social media site's live streaming feature is increasingly becoming a theater for grim realities and crime as it happens.

Audiences across the country have been gripped by video of an Easter morning shooting of a man outside a Houston gas station.

Cassandra Damper, who was initially charged with tampering with evidence in the shooting police called accidental, is now charged with aggravated assault with reckless serious bodily injury in the shooting of Devyn Holmes.

As scary and heartbreaking as some of these videos are, Facebook users just couldn't look away.

74-year-old Cleveland man murdered in Facebook video

One year before Devyn Holmes' shooting, Facebook users saw horrific video of a man's murder in Ohio. Robert Godwin Sr., was killed when Steve Stephens shot the 74-year-old man at point-blank range.

The shooter, who was apparently upset after a recent breakup, was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his car after leading police on a chase in Pennsylvania.

WATCH: What we know about Steve Stephens



21 hogs die in truck crash caught on FB Live

A terrifying crash on North Carolina's Highway 13 was captured on video as a business owner was shooting a Facebook Live in front of his tire business.

The boom and resulting chaos is intense as a truck hauling hogs smashes into a car, leaving behind a trail of damage in its wake. No humans were injured in the crash.


Infant girl killed on FB Live before her father turns gun on himself

A 20-year-old man in Thailand upset with his wife hanged their 11-month-old daughter in an abandoned hotel before killing himself, and it was all streamed on Facebook Live.



Disturbing Facebook Live video shows torture of man with special needs

In a shocking crime that rocked Chicago, four people were charged in 2017 for the brutal beating and kidnapping of an 18-year-old man with special needs. The horrific scenes caught on camera included the victim being forced to drink water from a toilet bowl, and the suspects threatening the man with a knife.

"Also heard on the video multiple times is a male voice threatening to kill the victim," said Asst. State's Attorney Erin Antonietti.

The cruel act incensed the community so much, the suspects' attorney said they received death threats. On the other hand, community members stepped forward, raising more than $165,000 on a GoFundMe page for the victim.

Death threat made to Facebook Live torture suspects, attorney says



Man live streams hours-long chase in Oklahoma

For more than three hours, 25-year-old Brenton Hager led police on a chase through the streets of Oklahoma City in an allegedly stolen truck.

The chase ended when he crashed the truck and tried to make a run for it. He didn't get very far.


Philando Castile's killing on Facebook Live

Diamond Reynolds was left grief-stricken after a Minnesota police officer shot and killed her boyfriend during a July 6, 2016 traffic stop.

Reynolds took out her cellphone and started live-streaming on Facebook after the shooting. The video, which was briefly removed from Facebook but later republished with a warning of graphic content, appears to show Reynolds sitting in a car with Castile, whose shirt appears soaked in blood, calmly saying an officer shot her boyfriend.

The officer who shot Philando was acquitted in June 2017. The man's family reached a $3 million settlement in his death.


Armed suspect shoots at police on Facebook Live

A man in California live streamed himself firing at deputies during an intense April 2017 standoff in California.

Sean Vasquez, 20, recorded himself loading a gun and then firing shots at officers after they responded to reports of someone firing upon morning commuters in the city of Covina.

At one point Vasquez ran into a nearby home amd barricaded himself inside. He was eventually taken into custody.


Mom films as 10-year-old takes car for a spin

The Connecticut mother was charged after residents complained about a Facebook Live video showing her son taking the wheel. The Connecticut Post reported that Nussbaum hinted there may be more to the story.


Man streams own murder outside police station on FB Live

A 55-year-old North Carolina man who went to complain to police after a family member stole his cell phone ended up capturing his own murder. Douglar Colson, 65, was charged after he was caught in a confrontation on camera with the man right before gunshots rang out.

RELATED STORIES: SHOCKING LIVE STREAMS

Teen shot and killed by friend while streaming live on Instagram


Teenager who live streamed deadly crash pleads no contest