Man charged in MI attacks had no barriers to guns

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says he is aware of the post regarding 45-year-old Jason Delton of Kalamazoo County.

Dalton appeared in court Monday and told the judge he understood the charges, but when asked whether he had anything for the judge to consider regarding bond, he said he wanted to remain silent.

Prosecutors said they were still trying to determine why Dalton began firing – seemingly at random – as he drove through Kalamazoo.

Matyas said investigators were examining Dalton’s Uber contacts and working to “track his phone calls, track his whereabouts” in the hours before his arrest early on Sunday.

County Undersheriff Paul Matyas described a terrifying series of attacks that began about 6 p.m. Saturday outside the Meadows apartment complex on the eastern edge of Kalamazoo County, where a woman was shot multiple times.

Minutes later, he opened fire in a Cracker Barrel restaurant parking lot, killing four women and wounding a 14-year-old girl. Four of them died.

Lt. Dale Hinz with the Michigan State Police said Dalton came close to admitting the crimes during his interrogation.

Dalton had no police record and passed Uber’s strict employment background check.

“We were driving through medians, driving through the lawn, speeding along and when we came to a stop, I jumped out the auto and ran away”, said Mellen.

Hours before the deadly rampage, Jason Dalton stopped by Southwick’s gun store and bought an $85 tactical jacket, like the one pictured.

University President John Dunn says the alert system is set up to warn of threats to the campus and people on it. However, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1Qe9sLk ) that Dunn apologized, saying the school “did not meet your expectations”.

As authorities tried to gather more clues about Dalton’s life, they found 11 rifles at his Kalamazoo home, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Carruthers was able to provide a description of the man who shot her, as well as his vehicle. Hadley says Dalton has no known criminal history. The company, which is now chalking up 3 million rides per day worldwide, needs to show that it has tough screening procedures and doesn’t just take anyone as a driver, he said.

About an hour before the first shooting, Dalton had been acting strangely and driving dangerously, one passenger said.

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

Beginning Monday, all official flags in MI will fly at half-staff for six days to honor the six killed in the shooting spree, Governor Rick Snyder ordered.

GoFundMe / Facebook The fatal victims of the shooting (clockwise from top left): Mary Jo Nye, Mary Lou Nye, Barbara Hawthorne, Rich Smith, Tyler Smith and Dorothy Brown. “We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can”.