Shep Smith rips ‘factually wrong’ conservatives for blaming Illinois cop's death on #BLM

Without mentioning any specific individual, Fox News host Shepard Smith was critical on Thursday of the rush to connect the death of Fox Lake, Illinois police Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz with Black Lives Matter activists, Media Matters reported.

"Think of the narrative that came out of that from so many, many places, about, 'It's the fault of the Black Lives Matter movement,'" Smith told guest Dan Schorr. "All of this stuff that was just, it really turned up the rhetoric and it really was factually wrong."

Several conservatives quickly declared Gliniewicz a victim in the so-called "war on cops" when his body was found in a remote area of the small community in September.

But authorities in Fox Lake confirmed this week that Gliniewicz actually committed suicide after reporting a false pursuit of three "suspicious men" -- prompting a huge manhunt that turned up empty. The 30-year veteran also reportedly tried to hire a gang member to kill a local administrator who was on the verge of revealing that he had embezzled thousands of dollars from a youth program in order to pay for his mortgage and gym membership, among other personal expenses.

"Today it got disgusting," Smith said of Gliniewicz's apparent attempt to have the official killed.

Schorr, a former prosecutor, said one of the lessons of this case is for observers to "not jump to big conclusions."

"You have to find out all the facts first," he said.

"Don't get ahead of the news," Smith responded, adding, "It will run you over."

Watch Smith's interview with Schorr, as posted online by Media Matters, below.