Uber has confirmed one of its drivers, Jason Dalton, is the suspect in a shooting rampage across Kalamazoo, Michigan. Dalton allegedly picked up riders and pocketed fares in between the shootings, which have so far killed six people and gravely injured a 14-year-old girl Saturday evening.
The girlfriend of one of Dalton’s customers posted on Facebook that her boyfriend was picked up by a man named Jason who was driving maniacally and blew past a stop sign. She also called 911.
“Hoping this man will be arrested or hospitalized soon if he has a medical condition causing his behavior,” the girl wrote. Police were able to match the Uber driver in question with the profile of the shooting suspect. The post has since been deleted.
Dalton, 45, was arrested early Sunday morning after a massive manhunt that began around 6 p.m. on Saturday and he is now in Michigan police custody.
A total of eight people were shot in three locations in between the rides, starting with a woman just outside Dalton’s apartment building. Dalton went on to shoot four women and the 14–year-old girl in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel and a man and his son who were sitting in the parking lot of a car dealership.
Uber has confirmed Dalton passed a background check.
“We are horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this devastating crime and those recovering from injuries,” Uber’s chief security officer Joe Sullivan wrote in a statement. “We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can.”
