VIDEO: Shepard Smith of Fox News apologizes after showing man shoot self in chase near Phoenix

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Photographer: YouTube user 'toddschnitt'

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Posted: 09/28/2012

Fox News host Shepard Smith immediately apologized after the network aired the apparent suicide of a carjacking suspect west of Phoenix.

"We really messed up," Smith said. "And we're all very sorry."

A suspected carjacking in Phoenix ended west of the Valley around 12:30 p.m. and a live video feed from a news helicopter was shown on Fox News.

"While we were taking that car chase and showing it to you live, when the guy pulled over and got out of the vehicle, we went on delay," Smith said.

But the suspect eventually appeared to have put a gun to his head and shot himself. That incident continued to air on Fox News.

"That didn't belong on TV," Smith said. "I personally apologize to you that that happened."

Fox News Channel Executive Vice President Michael Clemente also issued an apology Friday, saying, "We took every precaution to avoid any such live incident by putting the helicopter pictures on a five second delay. Unfortunately, this mistake was the result of a severe human error and we apologize for what viewers ultimately saw on the screen.”

Fox News and Shepard Smith quickly became trending topics on Twitter nationwide.

You can watch his full apology below that was posted on YouTube.

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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