Around 4:40 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016, police booked Jason Brian Dalton, 45, into Kalamazoo County Jail after authorities said he killed six people in a shooting spree in MI one day earlier.
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The suspect was not identified, but media reports, citing police, said he was aged 45, from Kalamazoo.
The shootings took place late Saturday around the city of Kalamazoo.
The carnage began early Saturday evening when Matyas said police were first called to a Kalamazoo County apartment building where a woman was shot multiple times before later being listed in serious condition.
Then a father and son were shot and killed around 10 p.m. Saturday at the Seelye Ford KIA Dealership in Kalamazoo, where they were looking at cars, state police said.
Authorities said Dalton had no criminal record and that he was in contact with more than one person during the rampage, but they would not elaborate.
Another victim at that location – a 15-year-old boy – was shot and critically injured, police said.
Getting said he’s expecting Dalton will be charged with six counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and multiple gun felonies. Getting said the victims did not know the suspect. Undersheriff Pauli Matyas says were got lucky that they got him before he killed again. “This is your worst nightmare when you have someone driving around killing people”, Matches said.
The Kalamazoo shootings follow a pattern of mass shootings in the United States that include the December 2 massacre in San Bernardino, California that left 14 people dead and 22 wounded, and the December 14, 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre in which 20 children and six adults were shot dead. Kalamazoo Police Chief Jeff Hadley said he is “very relieved that we have someone in custody”.
Police have not released the names of any victims, pending family notification.
The gunman’s motives were unclear, officials said. During this incident, two people, a father and son, were shot and killed. It is likely Dalton will be arraigned Monday.
Hadley, the public safety chief, said authorities have seized other weapons from Dalton’s residence as well.
Gary Pardo Jr., whose parents live across the street from Dalton in Kalamazoo Township, described him as a family man who seemed fixated on cars and often worked on them.
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The couple mentioned the shooting during the ride and Dalton appeared to be aware there was a gunman on the loose. “I don’t think that it’s really set in yet”, Derek told WOOD.
