By: Abby Shapiro
5:42. 10:08. 10:24. One shooter. Eight shot. Six dead. Thousands of lives changed forever.
Jason Brian Dalton, a 45 year old married man with two children, is responsible for shooting eight and murdering six in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, on February 22, 2016. Dalton was driving an Uber, targeting people at stops and picking them up in between attacks. The victims’ ages ranged between 14 and 74. “For all intents and purposes, he was your average Joe,” the Kalamazoo County Public Safety Chief said.
ABC reported that attorney Paul Vlachos stated; before the shootings on February 22, Carol Dalton, Jason Dalton’s wife, was out running errands with their children. Dalton spent the day with a friend, visiting a gun store before picking up Uber passengers.
According to CNN, Matt Mellen, a passenger in Dalton’s Uber before the shootings began, said, “We got about a mile from my house, and he got a telephone call. After that call, he started driving erratically, running stop signs.”
At 5:42 p.m., the first woman was shot multiple times in a parking lot. At 10:08 p.m., a father and son were shot and killed at Seeyle Automotive Stadium Drive parking lot. At 10:24 p.m., four women were shot and killed inside two vehicles in a Cracker Barrel parking lot. A 14-year-old girl also in a vehicle was shot in the Cracker Barrel parking lot. CBS said the girl survived. Two of the shootings were captured on video.
The Kalamazoo shooting has been the 26th mass shooting in 2016.
Many of those affected have been wondering, what was the motive? Was he mentally unstable? CNN said the motive for this chaotic shooting spree is unknown, and Dalton has no record of any mental health issues.
The Kalamazoo County Prosecutor said, “There is this sense of loss, anger (and) fear. On top of that, how do you tell the families of these victims that they were not targeted for any other reason than they were a target?”
According to the Detroit Free Press, 11 long guns and four handguns were recovered at Dalton’s home after the shooting rampage. A man who lives near Dalton, said, “Dalton regularly shot his guns, sometimes for hours on end, outside his home in the rural Cooper Township.”
ABC said, “Dalton is charged with six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder and eight counts of using a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to Kalamazoo County prosecuting attorney Jeff Getting. He has not yet entered a plea.”
“This type of violence has no place in our society, and we express our love and support for everyone involved. We intend to cooperate in every way that we can to help determine why and how this occurred,” members of Dalton’s family said.
