If you think social media has raged out of control, read no further.Or read on if you're looking for evidence to support your argument against the Internet age.
That's because a Utah man is making national headlines for taking a woman hostage in a motel in a 16-hour stand off with police last weekend and documenting the entire effort through status updates on his Facebook account.
The suspect is Jason Valdez. He's not a local man, though his antics had police and Sheriff's deputies in Long Beach buzzing early Thursday.
Valdez, 36, kept friends and family in the loop and even got a tip from a friend who posted on his Facebook wall that a SWAT officer was hiding in the bushes outside the Odgen motel where Valdez was holed up.
"Thank you homie (sic)," Valdez wrote Saturday. "Good looking out."
Valdez also posted photos of his alleged hostage, Veronica, with a tag "Got a cute 'hostage' huh?"
Authorities eventually raided the room, at which point Valdez shot himself in the chest with a handgun, police said. He is in critical condition.
His hostage was unharmed.
And the friend who sent him the tip about the SWAT officer is now under investigation as well.
Leave a comment