Octopus Overlords

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- A gunman who authorities believe chose victims at random shot people in the parking lots of a western Michigan apartment complex, car dealership and restaurant, killing at least six and seriously injuring two others -- including a 14-year-old girl -- during a rampage and subsequent manhunt that spanned nearly seven hours.

Forty-five-year-old Jason Dalton of Kalamazoo County was arrested early Sunday in downtown Kalamazoo following a massive manhunt after the shootings began early Saturday evening, said Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley. Hadley said Dalton, who is being held at the county jail, has no known criminal history.

Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas described a terrifying rampage that began about 6 p.m. outside the Meadows Apartment complex in Richland Township, on the eastern edge of Kalamazoo County, where a woman was shot multiple times and seriously wounded. She was scheduled for surgery Sunday morning.

A little more than four hours later and 15 miles away, a father and son were fatally shot while looking at cars at the dealership. Fifteen minutes after that, five people -- including the teenage girl who police originally said had been killed, based on a pronouncement by medical officials -- were gunned down in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant along Interstate 94, Matyas said. Police said Sunday morning the injured teen remained in serious condition.

Z-Corn wrote:They are reporting that he was an Uber driver and was driving fares around Kzoo in between shooting people.

rshetts2 wrote:I just found out that the suspect was a good friend on one of my nieces and her husband. They guy was a family man and a boyscout leader. His family and my nieces camped together during the summer and the guys son and my nieces son are friends. I didnt know the guy myself but this is a weird perspective to have, in one of these situations. In complete respect for those families who have lost and suffered by this mans hand I have to say I am thankful that he chose to go after random targets instead of familiar ones.

Z-Corn wrote:Just horrible.

Holman wrote:

rshetts2 wrote:I just found out that the suspect was a good friend on one of my nieces and her husband. They guy was a family man and a boyscout leader. His family and my nieces camped together during the summer and the guys son and my nieces son are friends. I didnt know the guy myself but this is a weird perspective to have, in one of these situations. In complete respect for those families who have lost and suffered by this mans hand I have to say I am thankful that he chose to go after random targets instead of familiar ones.

I just wouldn't know how to react to that news. I'm glad to hear that your people weren't in the line of fire. Did your niece ever have any indication that he was a murderer in the making?

I know sometimes people just lose their minds, but the typical murderer has been moving towards the crime for some time.

msduncan wrote:Wait... so he would actually take the people to their location and drop them off safely before finding someone else random and shooting them?

rshetts2 wrote:I just found out that the suspect was a good friend on one of my nieces and her husband. They guy was a family man and a boyscout leader. His family and my nieces camped together during the summer and the guys son and my nieces son are friends. I didnt know the guy myself but this is a weird perspective to have, in one of these situations. In complete respect for those families who have lost and suffered by this mans hand I have to say I am thankful that he chose to go after random targets instead of familiar ones.

An Uber passenger said he called police to report that Dalton was driving erratically more than an hour before the shootings began.

Matt Mellen told Kalamazoo television station WWMT that he hailed a ride around 4:30 p.m. Saturday. He said Dalton introduced himself as "Me-Me" and had a dog in the back seat.

Mellen sat in front. About a mile into the trip, Dalton got a phone call, and when he hung up, he began driving recklessly, blowing through stop signs and sideswiping cars, Mellen said.

"We were driving through medians, driving through the lawn, speeding along, and when we came to a stop, I jumped out of the car and ran away," Mellen said. He said he called police and that when he got to his friend's house, his fiancée posted a warning to friends on Facebook.
Since Dalton's arrest, several people have come forward to say that he picked them up for Uber in the hours after the first attack.

GreenGoo wrote:I sure hope they can get into his cellphone.

"Dalton then explains how when he opens up the Uber taxi app a symbol appeared and he recognized that symbol as the Eastern Star symbol. Dalton acknowledged that he recognized the Uber symbol as being that of the Eastern Star and a devil head popped up on his screen and when he pressed the button on the app, that is when all the problems started."

"Dalton said that as soon as the police officer stopped him tonight, the symbol went from black to red and he felt like he was no longer being guided," Moorian wrote. "Dalton said that was the reason he didn't shoot the officer because the app went from black to red ... Dalton said that if he would've never ever mentioned the Uber symbol resembling the Eastern star, he never would've had any problems."

Jason Dalton halted jury selection in his trial with surprise guilty pleas to six counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and eight counts of felony use of a firearm, according to prosecutors. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Dalton's attorney, who had previously said he wouldn't pursue an insanity defense for his client, said Dalton was pleading guilty against his advice, to shield his family and victims' families from the emotional toll of a trial, NBC affiliate WOOD reported. Jury selection began last week and was due to end Monday.