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Canadian authorities have been feverishly searching for a man believed to be responsible for murdering one person and seriously injuring another. Thanks to the popular video-sharing site, YouTube, their search may be over.

When perusing the video libraries of YouTube, there's a veritable cornucopia of potential things a user might come across. You can find music videos, short films, political commentaries, stunts gone awry... and that Renetto guy just falls into his own odd category.

Thanks to our neighbors to the north (the Canadians, for those of you who are directionally challenged) you can add police evidence to the list of YouTube offerings that one might encounter as well.

Authorities in Hamilton, Ontario uploaded a clip from a surveillance video onto YouTube, showing potential suspects arriving at a local nightclub to see hip-hop artist Sean Price, in the hopes that viewers might be able to aid in an ongoing murder investigation. The video has been viewed over 30,000 times.

A local Hamilton man, George Gallow, turned himself into police on Tuesday. The authorities credit the YouTube video as a major influence toward Gallow's decision to give himself up.

Gallow is charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder after allegedly stabbing 22-year-old Ryan Milner and an unnamed friend in a parking lot after the concert. Milner died shortly after the incident, and the other victim is recovering according to Hamilton authorities.

"This is the first time Hamilton police have utilized video web posting in an investigation, and to the best of its knowledge, the first time that law enforcement has ever used it as a direct investigative tool," Staff Sgt. Jorge Lasso commented at a press conference.

This sort of takes the concept of social journalism to a whole new level, don't you think?

Actually, the term "Social Law & Order" would probably be more appropriate in this case. Given that this particular YouTube video is considered to be directly responsible for bringing the murder suspect into custody.

Move over Mr. District Attorney, make room for YouTube.

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Joe is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.