- When you're watching a live broadcast,
always remember that anything could happen.
Live broadcasts are engaging because they're unfiltered
and anything could happen.
But occasionally the unthinkable happens.
Imagine watching a news program,
when suddenly the person speaking ends their own life
right in front of you without warning.
That's exactly what happened in the following stories.
And while each is different,
are equally dark and disturbing.
These are the 10 most shocking deaths
caught on live television.
Number one is Christine Chubbuck's suicide.
Christine Chubbuck was a 29-year-old
television news reporter for WTOG and WXLT TV
in Sarasota, Florida.
Chubbuck suffered from mental health issues
from an early age, and her severe depression
was no secret to her family.
Upon moving into her family's summer home,
she painted and decorated her bedroom
the way that a girl in her early teens would,
though Chubbuck was in her mid twenties.
On July 15, 1974, Christine decided to make a change
to her morning show, called "Suncoast Digest,"
and opened with a live news broadcast.
She briefly reported on several news events,
but the videotape for the last piece
that was she was talking about actually malfunctioned
and wouldn't play.
Taking this opportunity, she calmly looked into the camera
and spoke softly, saying,
"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you
"the latest in blood and guts, and in living color,
"you are going to see another first attempted suicide."
Suddenly, she pulled out a revolver
and shot herself in the side of the head.
WXLT cut the news feed, but it was too late
and Christine was rushed to the hospital where she died.
Number two is a racing crash.
Some televised sporting events can be dangerous,
despite being broadcast for all the world to witness.
However, it's arguable that there are few
as life-threatening as Formula 1 racing.
The competitors are strapped into a machine
that can hit 62 miles per hour in less than two seconds
and hit top speeds of over 200 miles per hour,
and pulls in more Gs than anything NASA has ever
launched into space.
It can be a deadly premise.
Ayrton Senna da Silva was no stranger to these risks.
The beloved Italian driver raced for the last time
on May 1st, 1994, during the San Marino Grand Prix.
During the seventh lap of the race,
the 34-year-old was in the lead
and was approaching a turn when his car ran head-on
into a cement wall at 135 miles an hour.
His car drifted off to the side of the track
with the front right half completely demolished
as the live TV camera operators zoomed in on Senna,
seated motionless in the cockpit.
He suffered three head traumas in the crash,
any of which would have killed him on their own.
He was pronounced dead at Matre Hospital later that day.
Number three is the Olympic massacre.
On September 5th, 1972, the 20th Olympic Summer Games
were being held in Munich, West Germany,
when they suddenly became the stage for a terrorist attack.
Orchestrated by the Palestinian group
known as Black September, the motivation for the attack
was to have 236 prisoners released from jails
in Israel and Germany.
Between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.,
eight terrorists broke into the Olympic village
and entered the sleeping quarters of Israeli athletes.
Once Black September started taking hostages,
some of the athletes actually fought back
while others did their best to escape.
In the chaos, two athletes were shot and killed
and nine were taken hostage.
The entire hostage crisis was covered live on television
from outside the building, which actually ended up
aiding the terrorists.
Watching police movements, they thwarted a plan
to take them out.
When German police failed a rescue attempt,
five of the eight terrorists were killed
and all nine hostages were murdered.
All while cameras rolled outside.
Number four is the magician's massive heart attack.
On April 15, 1984, famous British comedian and magician
Tommy Cooper was performing on a live television
variety show called Live from Her Majesty's.
A frequent sufferer of stage fright,
the 63-year-old entertainer was a heavy drinker
and cigar smoker, and his health began declining quickly
in the 1970s.
Live from Her Majesty's would have been his last performance
and as millions of viewers watched live at home,
Cooper's stage assistant helped him put on his robe
in preparation for his next act.
As she did the robe up, however, Cooper collapsed
into a sitting position, breathing heavily
and looking shocked while the audience simply laughed,
thinking that it was part of the act.
Cooper then fell backwards into a stage curtain
and the audience erupted with even louder
laughter and applause.
However, in reality, Cooper just suffered
a massive heart attack and was gasping for air.
The show quickly cut to commercials
while he was carried off to the hospital, already dead.
Number five is gored by a bull.
If the famous quote, "Don't mess with the bull,
"or you'll get the horns" needed a modern origin,
then this story would definitely be it.
Victor Barrio was a Spanish bullfighter from Segovia,
who at 29 years old lost his life doing the activity
that he loved.
On July 9, 2016, during the Feria de Angel Festival
in Spain, the matador faced off against a 1,166 pound bull
named Lorenzo, on live television.
However, during the fight, a large gust of wind
blew up his cape, which was just distracting enough
to give Lorenzo the opportunity to gore him.
While a large crowd of thousands
and even more at home watched live,
the bull's horn punctured his chest, piercing his lungs
and his thoracic aorta.
The force lifted him up into the air
only to have Lorenzo slam him back down into the dirt.
Pinned, the bull did even more damage,
piercing the matador several more times
while horrified viewers watched both in person and at home.
Barrio's lifeless body was carried off to the hospital
where he was instantly pronounced dead.
He became the first matador to die in the profession
since 1985, which is quite surprising
considering how dangerous it is.
Number six is the bus hostage shooting.
Officially known as the Rizal Park
hostage taking incident, this law enforcement fiasco
turned tragedy had thousands of people
sitting in front of their televisions,
wondering how something so graphic could be broadcast
to the public.
On August 23, 2010, former police inspector Rolando Mendoza
boarded a bus filled with Hong Kong tourists
in the city of Manila in the Philippines.
Rolando came equipped with a handgun
and an M-16 assault rifle, taking 28 hostages
and demanding his job in the police force back
after he had been discharged for criminal offenses.
His brother approached the bus,
attempting to reason with him, but was instantly arrested.
However, inside the bus, Rolando watched a live news feed
of his brother's arrest, and killed two hostages.
Still live on television himself,
Rolando began executing even more hostages.
SWAT teams outside of the bus failed to gain entry to it,
and after several attempts, they threw tear gas inside,
forcing Rolando out where police quickly
shot and killed him.
Eight hostages were killed in total, plus Rolando,
while the entire world watched live.
Number 7 is the car chase suicide.
On September 28, 2012, 33-year-old Jodon F. Romero,
a man with a long list of criminal convictions,
was the focus of a live, televised police chase
that ended in the desert just west of Phoenix, Arizona.
Romero was on the run after violating his parole
and stealing a car at gun point.
The chase was shot from a news helicopter
while Fox News' Shepard Smith commentated over the feed
from the studio.
However, things took a bleak turn
when Romero exited his vehicle and ran frantically
into the desert, tripping and displaying panic behavior.
Then, as Shepard continued to cover the chase,
Romero raised a handgun to his temple
and fired without warning.
Believing that the chase was on a five-second TV delay,
which was standard for such broadcasts,
Smith repeatedly ordered his team to cut away.
But of course, it was too late
and viewers witnessed a gruesome ending to the felon's life.
After a commercial break, Shepard immediately apologized
for the horrific events that people at home saw,
blaming human error for the mistake.
Number eight is the royal family attack.
On April 30, 2009, the Dutch royal family
was taking part in a parade
for their country's national holiday known as Queen's Day.
The parade was held in the city of Apeldoorn
in the Netherlands, and was being broadcast live
to viewers who could not attend
or didn't want to brave the crowds of people.
After the bus containing the royal family
and Queen Beatrix drove by,
Karst Roeland Tates, a 38-year-old Dutch man,
carried out a terror attack.
The first one against the royal family in modern history.
To the shock and horror of everyone watching,
Tates drove his black Suzuki Swift car
through the crowds of people lining the streets.
He then sped towards the bus containing the queen
and her family, but missed and crashed head-on
into a monument, fatally injuring himself.
Tates' car attack ultimately killed nine people
and injured 10 others.
Whose motives for the attack are still unknown,
but whose actions were all caught live for all to witness.
Number nine is a highway suicide.
On April 30, 1998, around 3:00 p.m.,
40-year-old hotel maintenance worker Daniel Jones
got out of his truck on a busy Los Angeles freeway
and started threatening people
as he waved around a shotgun.
After some time, police managed to block off the road
and a news helicopter began shooting live footage
of the standoff.
Of course, they had no way to know
what was about to happen.
Jones, who had recently been diagnosed
with cancer and HIV, was a deeply frustrated
and troubled man who could not afford his medical insurance
and was furious with the health maintenance organization.
Getting back in his truck, he set it ablaze,
but after a few seconds emerged, unable to stand the pain
and tearing his smoking clothing off.
He then stood on the edge of the freeway
but couldn't bring himself to jump.
That's when finally he grabbed the shotgun
from his burning truck, and shot himself through the chin
while viewers at home watched in sheer terror.
And number 10 is the news team that was murdered.
On August 23, 2015, Alison Parker, a news reporter
for WDBJ TV, was conducting a live interview
with executive director Vicky Gardner
from the local chamber of commerce.
The two were standing outside Bridgewater Plaza
near Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia
discussing upcoming plans and events
for the 50th anniversary of the town's reservoir.
However, what should have been a rather mundane broadcast
turned into a horrifying ordeal
when, in the middle of the interview,
Gardner, Parker, and the cameraman for the segment,
Adam Ward, were all shot multiple times at close range.
Soon after the shocking event, the feed cut back
to a shocked anchor who threw to commercial.
The shooter was former WDBJ reporter,
Vester Lee Flanagan II, who was fired from the station
due to disruptive conduct in 2013.
Both Alison Parker and Adam Ward were killed at the scene,
but Gardner survived her gunshot wound.
Flanagan shot himself during a car chase with police
several hours later, and died in hospital.
So, those were the 10 most shocking deaths
caught live on television.
As always, I want to know from you in the comments,
were there any other live deaths that were broadcasted
that were so disturbing that they deserve
to be on this list?
I also want to give a big thanks to Audible
for sponsoring this video.
They have an unmatched selection of audiobooks,
original shows, and more, for nearly all devices
like iPhones, Androids, iPads, tablets, and more.
Audiobooks are the perfect way to pass the time,
especially if you're doing something time-consuming
like traveling or doing chores around the house.
And Audible is offering a free audiobook
with a 30-day free trial to give you a chance
to try out the service, if you use the link
in the description, audible.com/matthew.
Lately, I've been in a creepy mood,
and I've been listening to Stephen King's It,
one of the many horror audiobooks that they have.
You can get that book or any other audiobook free
along with a 30-day free trial at audible.com/matthew.
But as always, I really appreciate you guys coming by today.
Remember to come back tomorrow and every weekday
at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time,
because I'll have a brand new video for you.
I'll see you then.