Uber driver pleads guilty to killing six people during US shooting spree
An Uber driver who killed six people during a shooting spree in Michigan has pleaded guilty to all charges.
In an unexpected turn of events as the trial was scheduled to begin, Jason Dalton on Monday pleaded guilty to the February 2016 shootings in Kalamazoo – attacks he carried out in between driving for customers of the ride-sharing service Uber.
Dalton was charged with six counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and eight firearms charges. He faces a mandatory life sentence without parole.
Prosecutors said no deal was offered for the guilty plea.
When asked by the presiding judge whether he was pleading guilty “of your own free will”, Dalton said: “Yes. I’ve wanted this for quite a while.”
Dalton reportedly told police that he was made a puppet by the Uber app, which he said directed him to shoot people at random over the course of several hours.
His victims were a 25-yearold mother wounded while shielding a group of children from bullets, a father and son killed at a car dealership, and four senior citizens killed in a restaurant car park, where a teenager was also wounded by Dalton.
NBC television affiliate Wood-TV reported that Dalton chose to plead guilty to spare his family and victims’ families the ordeal of a trial.