In what appears to be a series of random acts of violence, a crazed gunman shot and killed 6 people in Kalamazoo, Michigan last night.
Police arrested Jason Dalton around 12.40am on Sunday without “confrontation” and nearly seven hours after the shooting rampage began.
Police said Dalton, 45, was cooperative and his demeanor was “even-tempered”. A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from his vehicle, dark-colored Chevy HHR, a description of which was obtained through CCTV footage at a car dealership and restaurant where two of the three shootings took place.
“This is just the most awful thing I can think of having happening, and to have to stand here and talk about these kinds of things is just a terrible thing,” Kalamazoo county prosecuting attorney Jeff Getting told reporters at a press conference early on Sunday.
In early reports, police mistakenly said that seven people had been killed. They later revised the count to six. The 14-year-old girl was initially included in the count, but Getting clarified that she was “seriously, gravely injured”.
Later on Sunday, Michigan governor Rick Snyder released a statement in which he said: “The victims and their families – and the entire Kalamazoo area – should be in everyone’s thoughts today.”
Snyder also praised members of the community and law enforcement officials who he said “quickly came together”.
“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,” he said.
The victims appear to have been randomly targeted, police said, but few details were offered early on Sunday, as next of kin were still being contacted.
According to police, Dalton had no known criminal record and a motive for the shooting spree was not known.
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This morning a Facebook post is being circulated which suggests the man was driving for Uber shortly before going on a shooting spree. Apparently he was driving like a bedlamite, side swiping cars and whatnot. Kalamazoo emergency services were notified, but didn’t seem overly concerned:
This is not the kind of headlines Uber wants as competition from other ride share services ramps up. Look for their screening process to be scrutinized by the media.
The grizzly scene in western Michigan is also likely to put a bid in shares of gun makers SWHC and RGR.
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