London: American broadcast network, Fox News, aired the final moments of a car chase in Arizona, which showed a man shoot himself in the head, as hundreds of Americans watched it live on the television channel.
As producers and viewers watched the live footage of the pursuit, the suspect leapt out of his car and began running down a dirt track, following which he produced a gun.
Shephard Smith, Fox News`s noon anchor, was providing a running commentary as the suspect lurched away from the vehicle and viewers could hear his producers gasping in horror as the man shot himself, the Telegraph reports.
According to the paper, Smith shouted "get off it, get off it" as it became clear the man intended to kill himself but the station did not cut away in time and broadcast the suspect crumpling to the ground.
Fox News then went to a commercial break and when it returned to the studio, a visibly shaken Smith apologised to viewers, saying "that didn`t belong on TV", the paper said.
Smith said that the network had put the footage on a five-second delay after the suspect left his car but it appears that the non-delayed version was broadcast live, the paper added.
The man`s identity was not revealed.
ANI
