Motive remains mystery in Michigan rampage

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Uber driver authorities say fatally shot six people in seemingly random attacks over the weekend was formally charged Monday with murder as questions swirled around what motivated the rampage that made Kalamazoo the latest American city rocked by a mass shooting.

Jason Brian Dalton, 45, was charged with six counts of murder and 10 other counts, according to a complaint filed in court.

Dalton faces up to life in prison if convicted in Michigan, which does not have the death penalty. Dalton stared ahead and did not visibly react as the charges against him were read aloud and the names of the victims recited.

The shootings added Kalamazoo to an infamous list of U.S. cities that have experienced mass shootings - which, since last year, has grown to include San Bernardino, Calif., Roseburg, Ore. and Charleston, S.C.

In Kalamazoo, however, the rampage added a new twist to what has become a grim feature of American life. Rather than a burst of sudden, unexpected violence in a seemingly safe location, the shootings were mobile, gunshots apparently fired from an Uber car that authorities and riders say continued seeking passengers even after the bloodshed began.

Although police said Dalton had no criminal record, the episode has renewed questions about how thoroughly Uber checks the backgrounds of its drivers - a requirement that many governments have for regulated livery services such as taxi and limo drivers.

In a statement last July, the company said all its drivers must undergo a screening performed by Checkr, which Uber said is 'accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners.” Along with several other checks, the company searches federal, state and local databases for convictions going back seven years.

Critics have said that seven years doesn't peer far enough into a potential driver's past. But the company has said that seven years 'strikes the right balance” between protecting the public and offering 'ex-offenders the chance to work and rehabilitate themselves.”

An account relayed by an Uber customer driven by Dalton suggests that he began acting strangely after getting a phone call Saturday.

Mackenzie Waite said in a telephone interview that her fiance, Matthew Mellen, was picked up by an Uber car - a silver Chevrolet Equinox driven by Dalton - about 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Halfway through the ride, Dalton took a phone call on his Bluetooth and his behavior changed.

'He blew through a stop sign, sideswiped a car, starting driving in (and) out of the other lane of traffic,” Waite said. 'My fiance was just pleading with him to stop.”

Mellen, in a separate interview, said Dalton acted normally even while he drove erratically, refusing to stop. 'He was like asking me, ‘Don't you want to get to your friend's house?'” he said.

When the car slowed, Mellen jumped out and called 911. He sent authorities the picture of Dalton he had received after hailing the ride on Uber's mobile app. Waite said Uber did not immediately respond to her fiance's message. And police didn't call back until 6:30 p.m. to ask for a description.

An Uber spokesman confirmed Dalton had been working with the company and said he had passed a background check. The person declined to say how long Dalton was driving for Uber.

'We are horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence in Kalamazoo, Michigan,” Joe Sullivan, Uber's chief security officer, said in a statement. 'We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can.”

Police said those killed were Mary Lou Nye, 63, of Baroda, Mich; Mary Jo Nye, 60, of Battle Creek; Dorothy Brown, 74, of Battle Creek; Barbara Hawthorne, 68, of Battle Creek; and father and son Richard and Tyler Smith, 53 and 17, of Kalamazoo.

Authorities said the rampage began about 6 p.m. Saturday when a woman was fired upon outside a townhome complex. She was badly wounded but expected to survive.

About 10 p.m., about 8 miles away, the gunman appeared outside the Seelye Automotive Group, a car dealership. Police said he killed the Smiths there as they sat in a car.

Fifteen minutes later, the gunman opened fire at a nearby Cracker Barrel restaurant, killing four.

A 14-year-old girl was gravely wounded. She was being prepared for organ donation, Reuters reported, when she gripped the hand of one of her parents.

Authorities identified Dalton with help from video from the car dealership and restaurant. They spotted his car pulling out of the parking lot of a downtown bar and arrested him at 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Police said a semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the car.

The shootings are not being investigated as terrorism. Officials said a search of Dalton's home, where he lived with his wife and two children, produced evidence to suggest he acted alone.

President Barack Obama mentioned the shooting in remarks to the National Governors Association.

He noted that the San Bernardino shootings killed 14 people last December and added, 'Here's a hard truth: We probably lost more Americans than that to guns this weekend alone.”