Described by his neighbors as being meek, mild-mannered, and overall a really nice guy, no one expected that Jason Brian Dalton would turn out to be the suspected murderer of six citizens of Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Before the shootings, there were no signs that Dalton was planning to murder six people, as Dalton passed Uber’s background check and had no criminal record prior to the massacre. On Saturday, February 20th, Matt Mellon called for an Uber and received Dalton as his driver. During the ride, Dalton began to drive in an out-of-control manner and eventually stopped, which is when Mellon decided to jump out of the car. Shortly after this incident, the massacre began.

Dalton erratically drove around the county, briefly stopping to shoot people first at a townhouse complex, then at a car dealership, and finally at a Cracker Barrel. Dalton has since been arrested and charged with six counts of murder, eight counts of felony firearm possession, and two counts of assault with intent to commit murder. During the shooting, a man named Derek heard that there was a gunman in the area. Making an executive decision, Derek decided that he and his family would be safer taking an Uber back to their hotel than they would be if they walked. Dalton showed up in the midst of the shooting as Derek’s driver and drove him and his family back to their hotel before continuing to shoot.

There are still many mysteries surrounding the Kalamazoo shooting. No one can figure out Dalton’s motive and how he chose his victims. Dalton did receive a phone call while he was driving Mellon, and the call seemed to provoke his erratic driving, but it is still unknown who the call was from and what was said during the call. The police do not think that the shooting was an act of terrorism, but aside from that, there are not any hints as to what the shooting could have been about. The suspect and his alleged victims had nothing in common and did not know each other. While Dalton is known to be a gun enthusiast, having 15 guns at his house, he has never showed any signs of violence. He is being fully cooperative with the investigators; although, there is nothing the police have figured out that would help connect the dots and solve the mystery of this Uber driver’s shooting spree.

Sources: CNN

Photo Source: Alexander Torrenegra