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Business journalist tweets being shot

The deputy business editor of the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo used Twitter to tell his friends and family about his brush with death in a “ride-by” shooting.

Tony McDonough, 39, was caught up in the terrifying incident in Liverpool on Saturday night.

Using his mobile phone he managed to let the world know that despite being hit four times, he survived with facial injuries.

Tony tweeted: “I’ve been shot in West Derby village – pellets have grazed my cheek – I’m ok I think.”

He described the incident and also updated his condition: “My t-shirt and jeans were covered in blood…..have to return to hospital tomorrow to see if pellets need to be removed.”

Alison Gow, executive editor digital at the Daily Post and Echo, asked Tony why he’d opted for using the microblogging site instead of just ringing his friends.

“I just wanted to tell people. I wanted to say what was happening – I sort of forgot I don’t have many people following me!”

As this dramatic graphic shows, the incident seems to have earned him some new followers on Twitter.

Alison later blogged: “This, for me, is one of the best examples of why Twitter can work for journalists.

“People are hardwired to want to share stories; at times of crisis we all want to tell someone, and I guess a number of people in the pub that night texted or phoned friends to share the news.

“Journalists want to get news out too, and they want to get it out fast and first to as wide an audience as possible (probably so we can then say ‘I was first’).

“Tony, as a Twitter user, knew he had a good way to reach multiple people and used it.

“Oh, and of course, he also has the perfect response next time someone says all Twitter is about is ‘people saying what they had for breakfast’…..”