Kalamazoo shooting suspect visited gun shop hours before spree

One passenger had called 911 about his ride with the Uber driver on Saturday afternoon, an action praised by the ride-hailing company, but local police didn’t get back to him until later that evening.

At the center of this weekend’s deadly shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is a 45-year-old Uber driver who reportedly continued to pick up fares as police said he carried out three indiscriminate attacks.

On Monday Mr Dalton sat emotionless throughout a brief video arraignment held at the courthouse next door to the church, as a district court judge rattled off the list of charges filed against him: sixteen felony charges, including six counts of murder and two for assault with intent to commit murder.

“The filing of formal charges is the first step in the judicial process”, prosecuting attorney Jeff Getting said in a statement.

-5:42 p.m.: The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office is called to the scene of the first attack, an apartment complex on the eastern edge of Kalamazoo County where a woman had been shot multiple times.

The Michigan Uber driver charged with murdering six people switched vehicles after sideswiping a auto at the start of the shooting spree, authorities said on Tuesday, adding they hoped his phone would help establish a motive for the killings.

About 15 minutes later four women identified as Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda, Michigan; and Dorothy Brown, 74; Barbara Hawthorne, 68; and Mary Jo Nye, 60, were fatally shot outside the restaurant. Two others were wounded in the incident.

Police allege Jason Dalton, the driver, killed six people and injured two more in Kalamazoo, Mich., over the course of hours on Saturday. Dalton was denied bail, and his next court appearance is expected to be a preliminary examination set for March 3.

The owner of Ottawa cab company Coventry Connections said his drivers must complete a five-week taxi course at Algonquin College, and are vetted in person before they’re hired. That night, Dalton allegedly picked up Uber passengers in between shootings.

“This is every community’s nightmare – when you have someone going around just randomly killing people, no rhyme, no reason”, Getting said. Mellen said Dalton introduced himself as “Me-Me” and had a dog in the backseat.

Uber said riders complained Saturday about Dalton’s driving. Store owner Jonathan Southwick said Dalton was a regular at the store.

Fuller said investigators are particularly interested in communication between Jason Dalton, the man arrested in the shootings, and Uber, as well as between the company and customers he might have driven. An initial records search indicated Dalton had no criminal record and no known links to extremist groups.

In Michigan’s Capitol, Rep. Joe Hoadley, a Democrat from Kalamazoo, said gun violence is a critical concern among his constituents.