Kalamazoo Shooting Terrorism? Suspect Jason Dalton’s Motive Unclear As Police Piece Together Clues
Jason Dalton may not have had a motive for his deadly massacre in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where police said the Uber driver opened fire randomly on groups of people across three locations, killing at least six people in an attack they do not believe was an act of terrorism.
The deadly shooting rampage took place on Saturday, with police saying the 45-year-old appeared to attack randomly while continuing to pick up Uber riders. Police said it does not appear initially that Jason Dalton’s deadly shooting was an act of terrorism, but said they are still working to piece together a motive, NPR reported.
The victims in the Kalamazoo shootings did not seem to fit any specific profile. Police said Jason Dalton opened fire randomly in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant and later at a car dealership, WWMT reported.
The victims were spread across different age ranges, NPR noted. They included the following.
- Mary Lou Nye, 62
- Mary Jo Nye, 60
- Dorothy Brown, 74
- Barbara Hawthorne, 68
The shooting and its seemingly random nature left authorities in Kalamazoo perplexed.
“This is your worst nightmare,” Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas told CNN affiliate WOOD-TV. “When you have somebody just driving around randomly killing people.”
“We just can’t figure out the motive,” said Hadley. “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.”
Suspect James Dalton's home, accused of killing 6 in Kalamazoo County, neighbor says "I'm in complete shock," pic.twitter.com/hF0ruya69r
— Cody Sigel Combs (@CodyCombsNEWS) February 21, 2016
While police are still trying to determine the motive for the Kalamazoo shooting, they said they believe Jason Dalton acted alone. Police were seen inside the man’s single-family home, which was surrounded by yellow crime scene tape.
Others are joining in the investigation as well. After learning that he was an Uber driver who continued to take passengers during his shooting rampage, the ride-sharing company vowed to offer whatever help they could.
Uber’s chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, released the following statement.
“We are horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this devastating crime and those recovering from injuries. We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can.”
There may have been some signs that Jason Dalton was unraveling mentally. One woman who contracted Dalton as an Uber driver on Saturday warned on Facebook of his dangerous and errant behavior. The woman said Dalton sped through stop signs and into oncoming traffic, and refused to stop when they pleaded with him, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported.
https://twitter.com/chrisfholm/status/701432359305003009
After the nearly six-hour rampage through Kalamazoo, Jason Dalton was arrested without incident. Police are reportedly trying to determine his motive for the massacre, and right now it seems to be a mystery. Those who live close to Dalton and his family known him as a husband and father of two children. Neighbor Sally Pardo told CNN that they appear to be a “typical American family.”
“This seems so out of sorts for him,” said husband Gary Pardo, who added, “I know he liked guns.”
The Kalamazoo shooting came after other high-profile attacks that were deemed acts of terrorism, like the San Bernardino shooting in December that left 14 people dead as well as both attackers, Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik. Police said they are still interviewing Kalamazoo shooting suspect Jason Dalton to determine the motive for the deadly attack.
[Image via Facebook/Heavy]
