crazy Über michigan driver

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-shooting-idUSKCN0VU05S

A gunman suspected of killing six people and wounding two others in apparently random shootings in Kalamazoo, Michigan, was a driver for the car-hailing service Uber who a television station reported may have taken fares during the rampage.


Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Getting on Sunday alleged Jason Dalton opened fire late Saturday in parking lots outside an apartment building, a Kia car dealership and at a Cracker Barrel restaurant.


Authorities could not confirm that the 45-year-old suspect was working for Uber during the nearly five-hour shooting spree at the three sites. He was arrested early Sunday.

An Uber representative confirmed that Dalton was a company driver and that he had passed background checks. The representative referred questions about whether Dalton was working at the time of the shootings to police.

The victims "appear to be chosen at random, because they were available," Getting said at a news conference. "They were shot multiple times, multiple - nine, 10, 11 shell casings at each of these scenes."

The carnage in Kalamazoo, a city of about 75,000 people 150 miles (240 km) west of Detroit, was the latest in a series of mass shootings that have made gun control a campaign issue before the November U.S. presidential election.

WOOD TV, a Grand Rapids station, quoted police as saying that they were investigating reports that Dalton dropped off Uber fares at a Fairfield Inn hotel and then killed four women and wounded a 14-year-old girl at the nearby Cracker Barrel. Michigan State Police said the teenager was in critical condition.

The station reported that Getting said authorities were investigating a Facebook post by the fiancée of an Uber passenger who said Dalton was driving erratically just before the shootings.


In an emailed statement, the company's chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, said Uber was in contact with police to help with the investigation.

Michigan State Police said the carnage began at about 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with a report of a woman wounded outside an apartment building. At about 10 p.m., a father and son were killed at the car dealership.

Dalton allegedly opened fire outside the Cracker Barrel about 15 minutes later. The four slain women were identified as Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda, Michigan; and Dorothy Brown, 74; Barbara Hawthorne, 68; and Mary Jo Nye, 60, all of Battle Creek, Michigan, state police said.

Getting said Dalton was thought to have been in contact with more than one person via cellphone during the shooting spree. He is expected to be arraigned on Monday on charges of murder, assault and firearms violations, the prosecutor said.

Getting said a semi-automatic pistol was found in Dalton's car. Police said he had no known criminal record.

The Kalamazoo shootings come as Uber is facing a range of regulatory and safety issues. The company agreed last month to pay $28.5 million to settle federal litigation brought by customers who alleged the service misrepresented the quality of its safety practices and fees.




 (Reporting by Chris Michaud and Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Alan Crosby)

Uber terrorist?