Kalamazoo Shooting Update: Michigan Uber Driver Jason Dalton Switched Cars, Visited Gun Store

Jason Dalton, the 45-year-old Uber driver who was charged with killing six people, switched vehicles after sideswiping a car at the start of his shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan, authorities reportedly said Tuesday. Dalton opened fire at people at three locations Saturday in an incident described by officials as random and not targeted at any one in particular.

Authorities reportedly said that Dalton visited a gun store before his deadly shooting spree and bought a heavy-duty jacket that could conceal a small pistol. Officials hope they would be able to establish the motive behind the killings after analyzing Dalton’s phone.

On Monday, Dalton was denied bail after he admitted to the five-hour shooting rampage. He was charged with murder, felony firearm and assault with intent to commit murder.

A shop employee told Reuters that Dalton and his friend visited Southwick's, a gun shop he frequented in nearby Plainwell, hours before he went on his shooting spree. The employee said that Dalton was a regular customer.

Authorities working to determine the motive behind the shooting are analyzing a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and a cell phone seized from Dalton. They are also working on the fact that the shooter picked up fare in between the attacks.

“He didn't say much and he didn't act abnormal. He was rather quiet," Marc Dunton, 39, one of the passengers who rode with Dalton during the shooting, told Reuters.

Dalton, who had no criminal record, began shooting at people at an apartment complex, a car dealership and a restaurant, killing six people and injuring two others, including a 14-year-old girl who is in a critical condition. The victims were Mary Lou Nye, 62; Mary Jo Nye, 60; Dorothy Brown, 74; Barbara Hawthorne, 68; Tyler Smith, 17; and Richard Smith, 53.