DRIVER CHARGED IN RAMPAGE Uber helping with police investigation into Michigan shootings

Posted on 02/23/2016 | About Michigan

Uber has offered its assistance to police after one of its drivers went on a rampage on Saturday night, shooting eight people and killing six of them.  Jason Brian Dalton was driving for Uber the night of the shootings and reportedly even picked up and dropped off passengers between attacks.

Dalton, 45, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning after opening fire at three different locations in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Saturday evening.  He has now been charged with six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder and eight firearms charges.Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan issued a statement saying the company was “horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence”."Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this devastating crime and those recovering from injuries," he said."We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can."The shooting spree began at 5.40pm when Dalton allegedly shot a woman several times outside an apartment block, leaving her in serious condition.Just after 10pm, he opened fire on a man and his teenage son outside a car dealership, killing them both.About 20 minutes later and four miles away, he shot at two cars in the parking lot of a restaurant, killing four women and seriously injuring a 14-year-old girl.Matt Mellen told CNN affiliate WWMT-TV he rode in Dalton's car just before the shootings started."We got about a mile from my house, and he got a telephone call. After that call, he started driving erratically, running stop signs," Mellen told the station.He said Dalton was speeding, sideswiping cars and driving over medians and lawns. Mellen said when the vehicle came to a stop, he ran from the car and called police and also reported Dalton to Uber.Authorities allege that Dalton shot the first victim outside of an apartment complex a little more than an hour later.WOOD-TV reported that another man told the station he had sought an Uber ride as a safer alternative to walking with a killer on the loose, only to end up, apparently, in Dalton's car.At around midnight, the Indiana man visiting Kalamazoo with his wife and in-laws decided to call for an Uber ride after hearing about the shooting spree. They were told their driver's name would be Jason, and he would be driving a Chevrolet HHR. The man, who only wished to be identified as Derek, said the driver seemed to be aware of the news about an active shooter.“I kind of jokingly said to the driver, ‘You’re not the shooter, are you?’ He gave me some sort of a ‘no’ response… shook his head…," Derek said.“I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m not, I’m just tired,' and we proceeded to have a pretty normal conversation after that.”Derek said he did not smell gunpowder or notice a weapon inside the car. WOOD-TV reported that the foursome were dropped off at a Radisson hotel at around 20 minutes after midnight following a seven-minute ride.Police arrested Dalton at around 12:40am after a deputy spotted his Chevrolet HHR station wagon.Authorities said he was arrested 'without incident' and firearms were found in his vehicle.Police described the targets as completely random and said Dalton did not have a criminal history.Uber confirmed he had passed a background check but has not confirmed how long he had worked for the company.None of the victims had been passengers of the suspect.Dalton admitted on Monday he carried out the seemingly random attacks that killed six people and critically injured two. He waived his right against self-incrimination before making the statement to authorities, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said.The accused appeared in court via video to hear the charges. He was ordered held without bond and will get a court-appointed attorney.