Tragedy on Facebook Live: Chicago Father Fatally Shot While Streaming to Thousands

Family says 42-year-old Kevin “Tugg” Watson was targeted in South Austin shooting as community reels from violence

Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D August 18, 2025

Tim Wilson/flickr [CC BY 2.0]

Chicago — A shocking Facebook Live stream that captured the final moments of a Chicago man’s life has left his family and community stunned, bringing up questions about violence, visibility, and vulnerability in the digital age.

Kevin Watson, 42, known to friends and family as “Tugg,” was fatally shot Wednesday evening in a South Austin parking lot while broadcasting live to his Facebook followers. The shooting occurred just after 6 p.m. in the 5000 block of West Madison, according to the Chicago Police Department. Authorities said a vehicle pulled up alongside the victim’s car, a passenger raised a handgun, and fired.

The victim was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest, but doctors later pronounced him dead. The Cook County Medical Examiner later confirmed Watson’s identity.

Watson had been sitting in his car and had only recently gone live on Facebook before the attack. That video has since been viewed more than 2.5 million times, a grim reminder of how quickly violence can ripple across social media platforms.

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