Man in standoff with police broadcasts live on Whisper

UPDATE 8:23 PM

After a four hour standoff, police used tear gas to draw out the man. Gawker has screen shots of a conversation between the man and Whisper where he said he wanted police to shoot him.

A man currently involved in a standoff with a SWAT team in Grand Prairie, Texas, is updating the event in real time on Whisper, the anonymous messaging app.

The man, whose name has not been made public, started posting photos on Whisper approximately two hours ago, after a traffic stop turned into a car chase, according to NBC’s local affiliate in Dallas Forth Worth. Whisper has confirmed that the photos posted on their platform came from the individual.

This incident shows the evolving role that social media platforms play in breaking news developments, and highlights how the platforms themselves can become part of the story.

Fidel Martinez is an editor at Fusion.net. He’s also a Texas native and a lifelong El Tri fan.