Over the weekend there was another massive shooting….this time in Michigan and NO it had nothing to do with the water problem in Flint…..although I could understand if it did…….
More details have emerged about alleged Kalamazoo mass shooter Jason Dalton—but none of them explain what could have driven him to kill six people and injure two others in a Saturday night rampage, apparently picking up fares as an Uber driver between murders. Neighbors in a rural area north of the Michigan city tell the Detroit Free Press that the 45-year-old is an insurance adjuster and “nice guy” who lives with his wife and two children, ages 15 and 10. Neighbors say he loved cars and worked part-time as a mechanic. They say he bought a gun after his tools were stolen in a series of break-ins. “We knew he had a gun. I think he had it just for protection. He wasn’t a hunter or anything like that, but I know he liked guns,” neighbor Gary Pardo says. In other developments:
- Police say the death toll was thought to be seven until a 14-year-old girl who had been pronounced dead squeezed her mother’s hand, MLive.com reports. The girl, who had been placed on life support for organ donation, is still in extremely critical condition but authorities are hopeful. “The only word to describe it is wow,” a Michigan State Police spokesman says. “It’s absolutely a miracle that she’s alive and we’re definitely hopeful for her continued improvement.”
- The victims were doing nothing out of the ordinary and there is nothing to connect the three groups of victims to each other or to Dalton, NBC reports. Police say the first victim was a woman shot and injured outside an apartment building at around 5:42pm. Four hours later, Richard Smith, 53, and his 17-year-old son, Tyler were shot dead at a car dealership 15 miles away. Soon after that, Mary Jo Nye, 60, Dorothy Brown, 74, Barbara Hawthorne, 68, and Mary Lou Nye, 62, were shot dead in a Cracker Barrel parking lot and the 14-year-old was injured. They had been on their way home from a play.
- Dalton was arrested without incident early Sunday after his vehicle was seen leaving a bar parking lot and he is expected to appear in court on Monday, the AP reports. Authorities say a semi-automatic handgun was found in his car and the killings appear to have been random, with “no rhyme, no reason.” He was in contact with at least one person during the rampage, but authorities do not expect to charge anybody else.
- Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley says there is no reason to believe the shootings were connected to terrorism, but no other motive has emerged. “We just can’t figure out the motive,” Hadley says, per CNN. “There’s nothing that gives us any indication as to why he would do this or what would have triggered this. The victims did not know him; he did not know the victims.”
- Uber has confirmed that Dalton drove for the company, though they haven’t said whether he was driving for them Saturday night, the AP reports. In a statement, Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan said the company is “horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence.”
Chillingly, Dalton apparently picked up unsuspecting passengers hours after the murders. A visitor from IndianapoIis tells WOOD-TV that he ordered an Uber because he felt unsafe walking when there was a killer on the loose—and Dalton took him, his wife, and his in-laws back to their hotel. “I kind of jokingly said to the driver, ‘You’re not the shooter, are you?’ He gave me some sort of a ‘no’ response… shook his head,” the man says. “I said, “Are you sure?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m not, I’m just tired,'” he says. “And we proceeded to have a pretty normal conversation after that.” Dalton was arrested 20 minutes after the group was dropped off.
Americans need to stay clear of Uber for all their drivers are dangerous and capable of despicable acts……avoid them for your own protection…..(a public ser4vice message)……
May I see a show of hands of all those that think that is an irresponsible thing to say? How many think it is just silly to blame all Uber drivers for this act?
I thought so….now keep that thought in mind when you are blaming an entire population for the act on a demented toad…..
That warning will most likely be a fart in the wind…..but I had to try…..
It just occurred to me that the transportation service you have mentioned would be an ideal platform for some terrorist to utilize on unsuspecting customers…… Big trust up front and big betrayal once a captive audience inside the moving car …. yes …. ideal …. No, I will not be calling one of those now no matter what …. not until they start vetting all their drivers thoroughly.
John, I swear you’d find a terrorist threat in an empty shoe box.
I have missed you Mr. Hayes! I am so glad to see you again. You are correct! I could find a terrorist threat in an empty shoe box and if some terrorist decides to use empty shoe boxes as stashes for their boombs, you can bet they will try it … We’ve already had a couple of nut cases that tried shoe bombs and underwear bombs … I guess there is some possibility of shoe boxes and cigar boxes and the day may come when some terrorist might even try to pack a deceased cousin with explosives and ship him air express or something. They are very inventive and very devious. If you think about it, why not come on over and visit with me at my blog….http://www.jliming.com/?m=0 and bookmark me so I can always enjoy your comments …. and I always enjoy it when you comment. Make no mistake about that. I appreciate you.
Absolutely! All these fucking tech-obsessed iDiots are just lining up like the mindless sheep they are for this Uber-bullshit.
Easy fucking pickin’s, if you ask me. You could probably drive the car out to the woods, stop the car and slit their throats before they put down their phones….and that’s only because they’re looking for something to wipe the blood of their screen.
Not that I’m considering doing it, or anything 🙂
RE: ” . . . I thought so….now keep that thought in mind when you are blaming an entire population for the act on a demented toad…..”
There seem to be quite a few demented toads lately and most of them seem to all be claiming affiliation with the same ideology so who is willing to play the kind of russian roulette that is almost a sure loss each time? The ones who survive will be the ones who remain wary and vigilant.
Uber has had numerous felony charges leveled at them…so are they all guilty of malicious acts? Of course not but if we blame everyone by association then ….why not?
I am not going to be the one who finds out the hard way.
“Stay alert….stay alive”…..
Exactly!
If I can be put on a Terrorist Watch List because I had one lunch with a guy whose brother was under surveillance as a “person of interest” (who was never arrested for anything)….and then get deported & spend a year getting tortured in a Syrian prison…as has actually happened before in my country….then why can’t these Uber fuckwads get taken to Gitmo for something one of their drivers actually did?
I agree….I have nothing more to say….well said….chuq
This post about a man going on a killing spree with a semi automatic weapon.
Nog about the taxi he drove.
As a Dutch citizen I question in American society a person can have a semi-autjomatic weapon! Why? I question a society where on an almost regular basis people go on a killer rampage. What is the reason(s) people do this and is there a common denominator?
After all these senseless shootings, where prayers are said, where people have expressed their symphaty for the families of the victims, where people express their worries about the availability of weapons in US society (weapons (assault weapons etc) that have no place in the hands of a civilians.
After all that where does it end Americans?
I live here and I cannot explain it other than fear…..
Excuse me. Toad taking offense here. Stop associating us with idiots, please… :0)
oops! Sorry….no offense intended….LOL
I think my favourite part of the story is that he was picking up fares between killings. In this economy, even a deranged psycho-killer’s #1 priority is getting paid! 🙂
But I’m absolutely sick & tired of all the fawning over Uber. (Uh-oh. Prepare for another long, unread, Sedate Me rant)
Uber is nothing more than hitch-hiking that you have to pay for!!!
Uber says they do background checks (for what little those are worth). But this implies taxi companies aren’t forced to do the same, or better…and in person! That Uber background check is nothing but a snapshot in time. An actual cab company sees their drivers daily and has a chance to stop their taxi drivers from going all Taxi Driver. While I’m at it, they see the cars on a regular basis too. Actual taxi companies preform routine maintenance consistent with the dramatic increase in usage over a personal auto. Unlike Uber, they’re required to follow local laws & standards. Uber doesn’t have to because it has “special status”, thanks to bribing enough politcos to avoid being regulated.
Uber is not some hippie “ride sharing” outfit saving the planet. Their cars cruise around all day and I doubt drivers outside of major urban centres often have multiple fares in their car. Uber is simply a down-market cab company for an generation so broke, they can’t even afford hoopties anymore! Hell, they can’t even afford real cabs! But dress it up under the smiley face of technology, as Uber does, and suddenly you go from “broke loser” to “ultra-kewl” hipster. (Spoiler Alert: You’re still a fucking loser!)
And Uber is part of a major trend nobody is addressing, the growing poverty economy. WalMart is the top retailer (and employer?) in America! Loan-sharks are so mainstream now, they silently partner with major banks and even sponsor sporting events. Food trucks are just trendy roadkill reheats. Air Bullshit & Bullshit is just people begging for change on-line while they couch-surf. It’s part-time homelessness. Everywhere you look, poverty is earning multi-national corporations big money.
And how do they keep their prices cheaper? Well, the same way every big multi-national does. They pay shit wages, sell shitty products and “externalize costs”. Uber drivers get paid less, (and because there’s no cash) get tipped less. They get stuck with maintenance (because they’re all expert mechanics!) and get stuck with insurance/liability. Unlike cab companies, Uber avoids paying municipalities licence fees. Unlike cab companies, it doesn’t have properties to pay tax on, nor dispatch/maintenance employees. I also doubt most Uber drivers declare their taxable income. Uber contributes ABSOLUTE ZERO to the economies it operates in. It undercuts municipal budgets and undercuts demand for public transportation…(aka actual “ride sharing” that does help the environment.) Basically, Uber just sits there collecting vast sums of money from broke ass losers who want yet another excuse to never put down their fucking phone!
And Uber is just another tech-scam that permanently grabs your personal info; your location, your credit card number and God knows what else. What do they do with it? As with everything in the digital economy, anything they feel like. And I’m sure their database makes a really juicy hacking target.
Oh, yeah. And in a last second attempt to make this rant more relevant to the title….just think of all the hundreds of thousands of freshly unemployed, angry, cabbies from the Middle East with no money, no prospects…and lots of time to check out ISIS websites!
G.B. Shaw was right…. There is always something to fear for those who are afraid….
chuq, this one was inspired. I haven’t laughed so hard in days….
If people are so worried about terrorists, how ’bout they start looking at PG&E, or, AT&T, not to mention lawyers, or, about 60% of the police goons on the street, using their badges as an excuse to act out their belligerent fantasies of adequacy. Now, there are some terrorists….
Hmph…. Fear is for fools. Anyone who believes fear, or anger, can make them stronger, or better off in any way is exactly that… a fool.
gigoid. the dubious
Nicely said….chuq
I get the tongue and cheek but this is scary and sad. I know a number of people in the Kalamazoo area and have eaten at that Cracker Barrel more than once. Maybe this one is too close to home. The terrifying part is that it is random and could have happened anywhere.
A good guy with a gun syndrome….it happens everyday somewhere and we still cannot get our act together on on guns….chuq
Lobotero, could you explain tgo me that most comments are about the taxicompany?
I can’t see the humour in it!
And most of all annoys me that those commenters ignore the shooting?
Are Americans getting so blasé that it is accepted to make fun about the killing of people!
Or just ignore it, like Americans often do if they don’t like the subject!
(And ofcourse I know tha many Americans aren’t like those I discribe here. Don’t want to get amisunderstanding on that!)
Marie-Jacqueline….my comment was about the hypocrisy of blaming others for the actions of a few…..and yes we are that blase about shootings….it is a daily occurrence and we seem to be fine with the fact that more people are killing in the US than in some wars….it is all involved with the 2nd amendment and how we care to define what it means…..you will find that some people will find a way to inject their bigotries into any comment no matter the subject…..did that help? chuq
I did very well understand the intention of your post.
LOL: Don”t underestimate the Dutch for understanding the small nuances of the English/American language.
I also know that the second amendement is that what is the most interpreted/mis-interpreted amendement in the US I think.
On another forum it took me several months to grasp the intensity of this amendement is experienced in the US and why!
I have tried to explain this debate as best I can in the past I even wrote a paper on what I thought about the amendment……in case you may like to read it…
https://lobotero.com/2013/01/30/why-the-2nd/
I read your paper and I agree with your conclusion!
(In between the lines of your paper I read that you were affected by Katrina, sorry to here that.Loosing personal stuff is always difficult to deal with!)
Thanx and I am glad you liked it….Katrina did a lot of damage to me and my home….it has been hard to replace all the books I lost (about 500) but slowly I am doing it….chuq