Shepard Smith, the indisputable voice of sanity and reason on Fox News, apologized on Friday after the network showed what appeared to be a suicide live on the air during its afternoon programming.

Fox News was following a high-speed police pursuit involving a suspected carjacker in Phoenix when the man got out of the vehicle and eventually shot himself in the head. The cable news channel then immediately cut to a commercial.

When the program resumed, Smith apologized to viewers. “We really messed up,” he said. Smith said the footage had been on a five-second delay and should not have aired. “We’re all very sorry. That didn’t belong on television.”

Watch the video of Smith’s apology.

— Posted by Tracy Bloom.