As Kalamazoo, Mich. mourns the deaths of six people following Saturday s shooting spree, Uber is grappling with yet another blow to its reputation.
The company has confirmed suspected shooter Jason Dalton was an Uber driver, and reports have surfaced that he was working during the deadly rampage — even picking up and dropping off passengers between shootings. In a statement Sunday, Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan wrote the Uber team is horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence. But the shootings, coming less than two weeks after Uber settled a lawsuit over its driver background checks, are sure to raise additional questions about Uber s safety protocols.
Authorities say Dalton opened fire outside an apartment complex, a car dealership and a Cracker Barrel restaurant, killing six people and injuring two during a seven-hour spree, the Associated Press reported. He was arrested in Kalamazoo after a manhunt and is expected to be arraigned Monday on murder charges.
Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this devastating crime and those recovering from injuries, Sullivan wrote in a statement posted on Uber s website. We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can.
Uber spokeswoman Nairi Hourdajian confirmed to the Associated Press that Dalton had driven for Uber, but wouldn t say whether he was working Saturday night. A Facebook post indicated Dalton had picked up at least one fare that night, according to the AP. CNN affiliate WWMT in Kalamazoo spoke to a man who said he was a passenger of Dalton s just before the shootings. Matt Mellen claims Dalton was driving erratically, running stop signs and driving through medians. Mellen says he ultimately jumped out of the car and ran.
It s unclear what, if anything, Uber could have done to keep Dalton off the road — authorities say he had no criminal record that would have shown up as a red flag during a background check. Nevertheless the tragedy is likely to be a lingering black eye for Uber, which has grappled with criticism over its safety protocols. Earlier this month the company agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle claims that it misled customers about the adequacy of its driver background checks. Uber didn t admit to wrongdoing, but agreed to change the name of its $1 safe ride fee to a booking fee. The San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorney s offices also have sued Uber over its background checks, as have women who claim they were sexually assaulted by their drivers.
Photo: Foot traffic going past Uber offices on Market Street in San Francisco in 2014. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
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