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6 killed in Michigan parking lot shootings; suspect arrested Six killed in Kalamazoo shooting spree were ‘chosen at random,’ authorities say
(about 2 hours later)
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, authorities said. Kalamazoo County officials say that a man who opened fire across the area on Saturday, killing six people and injuring two others, appears to have gunned down people at random during the four-hour rampage in western Michigan.
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. On Sunday morning, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting said police identified the gunman as Jason Brian Dalton, 45, of Kalamazoo. Dalton was taken into custody hours earlier.
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. Getting said evidence suggests the victims killed during this spree, which terrified and locked down an area two hours west of Detroit, had no relationship with one another.
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. “These weren’t sudden explosions, this was done intentionally,” Getting told reporters during a briefing. “They appear to have been chosen at random because they were available.”
Matyas said authorities did not believe the shootings were targeted at specific people, describing them as “our worst case scenario.” Authorities believe Dalton acted alone, Getting said, and the shooting spree is not being investigated as an act of terrorism. The gunfire comes more than two months after 14 people were killed in what was later deemed a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif., which came two months after a lone gunman killed nine people at an Oregon community college.
“These are random murders,” he said. [It’s very unusual for mass shooters to live and face trial]
Dalton was arrested in a neighborhood about 12:40 a.m. after a deputy spotted his vehicle driving through downtown Kalamazoo, authorities said. Matyas said Dalton did not resist when approached by law enforcement officers, and one gun in the car. Matyas declined to disclose anything else police may have found in the vehicle. Dalton does not have a criminal record, Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley said on Sunday morning.
“We had no problem with him,” Matyas said of Dalton’s apprehension. “In this particular case, we’re just thankful it ended the way it did — before he could really kill anybody else.” “We are trying to piece together a motive,” Hadley said. “Honestly, it appears to be completely and totally random.”
Police said each of the shootings was random and Dalton was the only suspect. Getting said Dalton, who will be arraigned Monday afternoon, will likely be charged with six counts of murder, with two counts of assault with attempt to commit murder, and six counts of felony with a firearm. “And then we’ll see from there,” he said.
“There’s no common denominator with any of these,” Matyas said, before detailing each shooting. “This person was just waiting in the parking lot of the apartment complex. The one at ... the dealership, they were looking at cars. The ones at Cracker Barrel, they were just sitting in their cars. “There is absolutely no common denominator ... through race, age, anything.” In speaking to reporters early Sunday, Getting said Dalton shot his first victim, a woman, multiple times outside the Meadow Townhomes apartment complex at 6 p.m.
Matyas declined to offer a possible motive This woman, who was not identified, is “severely injured” but is expected to survive, Getting said.
“This is every community’s nightmare — when you have someone going around just randomly killing people, no rhyme, no reason,” he said. “Obviously, we’re going to interview the individual and we’re hoping to gather ... what he was thinking, what type of methodology he used, if any, in these killings.” Four hours later, Dalton appeared outside the Seelye Automotive Group, a car dealership, at 10 p.m. and killed two men — an 18-year-old and an older man believed to be father and son — while they were sitting in their car.
Kalamazoo, with a population of about 75,000, is about 160 miles west of Detroit. It is home to Western Michigan University and the headquarters of popular craft beer maker Bell’s Brewery. The city also is known for the anonymously funded Kalamazoo Promise program, which has paid college tuition of students who graduate from Kalamazoo Public Schools for more than a decade. Fifteen minutes later, Dalton opened fire at a nearby Cracker Barrel restaurant, killing four people. A 14-year-old girl was also shot, and while early media reports suggested she had died,Getting said she was “seriously gravely injured” and it was unknown if she is expected to survive.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The names of the victims will not be released until their families are notified, officials said.
Getting said video from the car dealership and restaurant helped police identify Dalton’s car in the parking lot of a downtown bar where he was arrested at 12:30 a.m. without struggle.
A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the car, Getting said, and a search of Dalton’s home produced evidence that suggested Dalton acted alone. It is not certain if Dalton has a license for the firearm.
In the community, the impact of the shooting will continue to resonate, he said.
“It’s hard to put into words the impact that something like this has,” Getting said. “To know the loss the community has suffered, the loss the community will continue to suffer, you cant begin to put that into words.”
Further reading:
Aurora movie theater gunman sentenced to life in prison without parole for 2012 massacre
Widow of San Bernardino shooting victim files $58 million in wrongful death claims
In heartbreaking video, Sandy Hook teachers recall 2012 massacre: ‘I’ll never be the same’