Uber driver arrested in connection to Michigan shootings

MICHIGAN (NEWS 1130) – Uber has confirmed 45-year-old Jason Delton of Kalamazoo County, arrested in connection with the shootings in Michigan, was a driver-partner with the company and had previously passed a background check.

The company sent this statement to NEWS1130: “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. We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can.”

The Latest in the shootings in the Kalamazoo, Michigan area (all times local):

1:30 p.m.

The next-door neighbour of a woman shot first in a rampage that left six people dead says she and her family heard the shooting, ran outside and her neighbour “was on the ground.”
Tammy George says four bullets went into a closet of her apartment, where her son was playing video games with two friends a few feet away. George says her neighbour was lucky to be alive considering the number of shell casings authorities found.

The woman has not been identified. Police say she was shot multiple times and was seriously wounded in the rampage that began about 6 p.m. Saturday outside the apartment complex on the eastern edge of Kalamazoo County.

George says she made sure the woman’s children were OK and told them that their mother was talking and asking about them. Forty-five-year-old Jason Dalton of Kalamazoo County was arrested early Sunday in Kalamazoo in connections with the shootings.
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12:40 p.m.

Authorities have released the names of four people killed inside two vehicles parked near a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Kalamazoo during a shooting rampage that left six people dead.

Michigan State Police say the victims were 62-year-old Mary Lou Nye of Baroda and 60-year-old Mary Jo Nye, 68-year-old Barbara Hawthorne and 74-year-old Dorothy Brown, all of Battle Creek. A 14-year-old girl also shot in the restaurant lot remains in critical condition.

State police say four of the victims were inside a Chevrolet Cruze and the fifth victim _ Mary Lou Nye _ was alone in an Oldsmobile minivan nearby. The shooting happened shortly before 10:30 Saturday night and was the last of three separate shootings. The suspect in the shootings, 45-year-old Jason Dalton, has been taken into custody.

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12:15 p.m.

A Michigan prosecutor says authorities are investigating a Facebook post that the suspect in a series of random shootings that left at least six people dead was an Uber driver who was driving erratically and around the time of the shootings.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says he is aware of the post regarding 45-year-old Jason Delton of Kalamazoo County. Getting added that it is part of the investigation, but he was not prepared to discuss it.

Getting says Dalton likely will face multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with the shootings Saturday. Dalton is expected to appear Monday before a judge in a Kalamazoo County courtroom.

He was arrested early Sunday in Kalamazoo.

Uber did not immediately comment but a spokesman says they are preparing a statement.

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10:50 a.m.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says “the victims and their families — and the entire Kalamazoo area — should be in everyone’s thoughts” after a shooting rampage that killed at least six people.

Prosecutor Jeff Getting says 45-year-old Jason Dalton likely will face multiple first-degree murder and attempted murder counts. Dalton was arrested early Sunday.

The shootings started Saturday evening outside an apartment complex where a woman was seriously wounded. A father and son were slain four hours later at a car dealership.

Four people were killed and a 14-year-old girl wounded 15 minutes later in a restaurant parking lot.

Snyder in his statement Sunday also lauded police, saying “their actions resulted in the suspect being caught before he was able to harm anyone else through these senseless and apparently random acts of violence.”

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8:55 a.m.

Authorities expect the suspect believed to be responsible for a series of random shootings in western Michigan that left at least six people dead will be arraigned Monday afternoon.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says 45-year-old Jason Dalton of Kalamazoo County likely will face multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder when he appears before a judge in a Kalamazoo County courtroom.

Dalton was arrested early Sunday in Kalamazoo. Police say he has no known criminal history.

Police say the rampage began about 6 p.m. Saturday outside an apartment complex on the eastern edge of Kalamazoo County, where a woman was shot multiple times and seriously wounded. A little more than four hours later and 15 miles away, a father and son were fatally shot while looking at vehicles at a car dealership.

Fifteen minutes after that, five people — including a 14-year-old girl — were gunned down in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant.

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7:50 a.m.

Police have revised the death count in a series of random shootings in western Michigan that have left at least six people dead.

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley says a 14-year-old girl who originally had been pronounced dead by medical officials is still alive. Hadley says Sunday morning the teen remained in serious condition.

Forty-five-year-old Jason Dalton of Kalamazoo County was arrested early Sunday in Kalamazoo in connections with the shootings. Hadley says Dalton has no known criminal history.

Police say the rampage began about 6 p.m. Saturday outside an apartment complex on the eastern edge of the Kalamazoo County, where a woman was shot multiple times and seriously wounded. A little more than four hours later and 15 miles away, a father and son were fatally shot while looking at vehicles at a car dealership.

Fifteen minutes after that, five people — including the 14-year-old girl — were gunned down in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant.

Dalton remained jailed Sunday.