Two journalists killed during Facebook Live broadcast

Attackers burst into the studio and shot the presenter mid-broadcast, a shooting that was also caught on Facebook live.

Reporter and director of Dominican radio station killed during live broadcast
Two employees at the station were killed and one wounded in the attack [Orlando Barria/EPA]

Police in the Dominican Republic have arrested three men after two radio journalists were shot dead during a Facebook Live broadcast, according to officials.

The shooting took place on Tuesday in San Pedro de Macoris, east of the capital Santo Domingo. 

The attackers burst into the 103.5 FM studio and shot dead presenter Luis Manuel Medina as he was reading the news on air.

Gunfire and a woman’s voice shouting, “Shots, shots!” can be heard on a Facebook live video streamed by one of the journalists there at the time.

Moments earlier, the station’s director Leonidas Martinez was killed in his office, witnesses at the radio station told local media. 

“Two people have died and one has been injured,” national police spokesman William Alcantara told reporters. He identified the wounded person as the station’s secretary.

No charges have yet been filed against the arrested men.

According to media rights watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, journalists who tackle corruption and drug trafficking in the Dominican Republic often fall victim to attacks. 

Family and friends mourn journalists Luis Manuel Medina and Luis Martinez, announcer and director of the radio station FM 103.5 [Orlando Barria/EPA]
Family and friends mourn journalists Luis Manuel Medina and Luis Martinez, announcer and director of the radio station FM 103.5 [Orlando Barria/EPA]
Source: News Agencies