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Uber helping with police investigation into Michigan shootings

Monday, 22 February 20163 min read

Uber has offered its assistance to police after one of its drivers went on a rampage on Saturday night, shooting eight people and killing six of them.

The car sharing company issued a statement as reports emerged that the driver may have picked up and dropped off passengers between the shootings.

This has not been officially confirmed.

Jason Brian Dalton, 45, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning after opening fire at three different locations in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Saturday evening.

Six people were shot dead and two people, including a 14-year-old girl, remain seriously ill in hospital.

Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan issued a statement saying the company was ‘horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence’.

"Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this devastating crime and those recovering from injuries," he said.

"We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can."

The shooting spree began at 5.40pm when Dalton allegedly shot a woman several times outside an apartment block, leaving her in serious condition.

Just after 10pm, he opened fire on a man and his teenage son outside a car dealership, killing them both.

About 20 minutes later and four miles away, he shot at two cars in the parking lot of a restaurant, killing four women and seriously injuring a 14-year-old girl.

Police arrested Dalton at around 12:40am after a deputy spotted his Chevrolet HHR station wagon.

Authorities said he was arrested ‘without incident’ and firearms were found in his vehicle.

Police described the targets as completely random and said Datlon did not have a criminal history.

Uber confirmed he had passed a background check but has not confirmed how long he had worked for the company.

None of the victims had been passengers of the suspect.