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Kalamazoo Shooter Claims Uber App Possessed Him to Shoot People
The Uber driver who claimed responsibility for the shooting rampage in Kalamazoo, Michigan that left six people dead and two wounded is now blaming the app for his murderous spree.
Man charged with killing six in Kalamazoo shootings says Uber app made him do it https://t.co/DznSXCIMhD pic.twitter.com/MeNYgetOUd
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 14, 2016
Jason Dalton told investigators that he felt as if the app took him over “like artificial intelligence that can tap into you body,” according to police documents.
Dalton was working as an Uber driver when he allegedly began his shooting rampage. For hours, the married father of two is said to have fired upon pedestrians at random, stopping intermittently to pick up unsuspecting fares.
According to the arresting officer’s report, Dalton told investigators during a video interview shortly after the shootings that the Uber app made him “feel like a puppet” and would “literally take over” his whole body.
At first he was reluctant to explain what had happened because he “[didn’t] want to come across as a crazy person.”
Dalton explained to investigators that all of his problems started after he opened the driver app. According to the report, when he would log into the app a symbol that resembled an Eastern Star would appear and a horned devil would pop up on his screen. When the symbol was black, the devil take over his body and give him assignments, but when the symbol turned from black to red he would regain control.
The report reads,
Dalton explained how you can drive over 100mph and go through stop signs and you can just get places.
[…]
It starts out that you have to follow the navigation, but it gets to the point where you don’t have to drive at all, the car just goes.
Dalton also told investigators that he was seeing himself from outside of his body.
Police have stated that Dalton has no prior history of mental illness. However, earlier this month he was ordered to undergo a mental competency exam to determine whether or not he is fit to stand trial.
If found competent he faces charges for murder and attempted murder in the multiple shootings that occurred outside of an apartment complex, a restaurant, and at a car lot.
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